Family claims camper in for repairs came back trashed
WOODSTOCK, Ga. - A woman says she dropped her camper off for repairs and when she picked it up she was stunned. Alli Bell says it looked like someone had been living in it.
Bell says she and her family bought the camper 3 years ago and used it as often as possible.
"Our last trip was at McKinney and that was our favorite trip. We had our three boys, making memories, fishing and roasting marshmallows," said Bell.
In June, the Bells dropped their camper off at Camping World in Woodstock to repair a broken water heater and faucet. Bell says repairs took more than two months, and when she went to pick it up she got quite a shock.
"When I opened the door, the smell of cigarette smoke and ashes all over the floor, and we don't smoke," said Bell.
She says there was trash on the counter tops, and some unusual items like a hat full of hair.
She says she then noticed the bed.
"The bed had been slept in, that I had not had bedding on, had bedding on it. So someone had apparently been living in our camper," said Bell.
She says some of her items like towels and camping gear were missing.
"Our whole stake of towels, and some lanterns, small tent, like a two-person tent we'd set up for the kid," said Bell.
Bell says Camping World Woodstock offered to clean the camper, but she wasn't comfortable with that.
"We don't know who has been in here, and we don't know what they've been doing it, there could be drugs, they could have put cameras in here," said Bell.
Camping World ended up buying the camper after the repair and complaints.
FOX 5 contacted Camping World Woodstock and the corporate offices. No one would release a statement or wanted to give a quote, but FOX 5 was told there are areas on the property that do not have a fence around some of the campers.
Bell says she has talked to the manager about adding security. She says she doesn't want what happened to her to happen to anyone else.
"I don't want someone else's property to be broken into," said Bell.