Outdoor Adventures

In Fall of 2021, my girlfriend and I attended Pig & Whiskey in Ferndale. There was a booth set up where you could spin a wheel for a chance to win various prizes. We ended up landing on a free 2-night hotel stay in a number of cities across the country. In order to get the gift, we had to attend a sales presentation hosted by Outdoor Adventures. We also received a "bonus gift" of a free RV rental at one of ODA'S campgrounds.

In December, my girlfriend and I visited the Davidson location in order to redeem our prizes. We had already discovered the "free" hotel stay that we'd won required a $50 cash deposit before we could make a reservation. So, with one gift not really being a gift, we hoped to get the free RV rental and break even with our time.

When we arrived, we were taken on a tour of the campground. The salesman painted the picture of a perfect getaway for campers who are looking to take things easy. He showed us the pool, "lake", general store, campsites, as well as cabins that would be accessible for my disabled father, a Vietnam veteran who isn't able to camp with me due to his condition but would love nothing more. At this point, we returned to the office and that's when the misrepresentation of what we were being sold really began.

He started by reminding us of all the amenities we had just seen and telling us about their locations across the state and their plans to expand. He told us about their lifetime membership, which can be passed down to your kids, and their kids, and all they'd be paying is yearly dues once the membership is paid for.

He then introduced us to a company they partner with, Coast to Coast. Included in our ODA membership would be another membership that allowed us to travel to other states and countries at reduced rates. He logged into his account and showed us homes in Italy, Hawaii, and anywhere else we could think of. He showed us "weekly rates" of less than $500 for 3-bedroom houses that would cost thousands through usual travel providers. He started showing us how much we would likely spend on vacations in our lifetime, and made it seem like the savings paid for the membership over time.

We told the salesman that everything he was saying sounded great, but it would ultimately come down to price. We were a young couple trying to save for a home and the future and had higher priorities than discount vacations.

First, he showed us the price of lifetime membership with perpetuity that he'd been raving about. While I can't remember the exact amount, the sticker shock was immediate, and we told him there was no way we could afford that kind of monthly expense. He then showed us the lifetime membership without any of the inheritance benefits, which was still too much. Then he said he could pull some strings and offer us the "senior" membership, a ten-year agreement at a lower rate, and we could always renegotiate to a lifetime contract if we decided to later on. That sounded better, but the monthly rate was still more than we would be able to afford. He finally asked us what we could afford each month, and we told him half of the rate of the current rate he was offering for the 10-year membership. He said he would see what he could do, and came back with an offer that was about 60% of the original rate.

At this point, we'd been at this "presentation" for at least a couple hours. We'd said no so many times, and the number just kept getting lower. We told him that we'd like some time to think about it, and that's when we were told the offer would only remain valid while we were there. If we walked away at that point, then this seemingly great opportunity would immediately become unaffordable again. The thought of an affordable chance to enjoy camping with my dad again was one I couldn't let go of. So, we decided to see if we were even eligible for approval for the membership.

The salesman took my information for the application, as well as my girlfriend's. He said that we would need to get approval through Coast-to-Coast, and if that cleared, we would cover the remaining sum with an in-house loan from ODA. When the salesman returned, he said that I wasn't approved for Coast-to-Coast, but my girlfriend was. My girlfriend, however, didn't make sufficient income for the remaining loan that would be handled through ODA. Despite the fact that we were unmarried with separate addresses, the salesman said he "found a way to make it work". He said that my girlfriend would have the Coast-to-Coast account, and would be an authorized member for my ODA membership.

From that point, we were brought to another person who was in charge of walking us through the contracts. We were rushed from the moment we stepped into his office. He quickly reviewed parts of the contract, and told us the rest was "standard" verbiage. He then had me sign the contract, not my girlfriend, but did have her initial the terms & agreements page. We were told we had 3 days to change our minds and given our temporary membership cards and sent our way. We were both in a daze after a long and intense sales process, but left feeling like the chance to create memories with my father and future family would be worth the investment.

We received a call in January of 2022 asking us to come discuss our membership because they'd recently sold the company and were looking to move us into a different contract. We listened to ANOTHER presentation and then were asked if we'd like to "upgrade" our membership at a higher monthly rate. We declined, but did have a discussion with them that we were worried about our ability to pay due to financial hardships that came with owning a business during a looming recession following a pandemic. We were told they'd be very understanding and work with us. We did our best to keep this account out of collections, but once we weren't able to keep up and showed signs that we felt duped by their company, we received notice from Meridian Financial that our account had been sent to collections. When my girlfriend attempted to call and discuss the debt, she was told she wasn't on the account and didn't have authorization to speak about it, despite her identity being used to make this whole scheme possible for them.

When we asked the collection agency for proof of this debt, given the total they're attempting to collect is more than we ever agreed to, and shows no reflection of payments we previously made, they merely sent the contract that I signed (and my girlfriend initialed).

Meanwhile, my girlfriend's credit was impacted by Coast to Coast. We received no login information for months following the sign up, and payments were considered late because they'd already come up due before she received any account information.

Anytime we looked into using Coast-to-Coast or ODA, prices have been higher than expected, dates unavailable, or we were behind on payments. By the time membership dues came up for BOTH Coast-to-Coast and ODA at the end of 2022, we realized just how badly we'd been duped.

Despite my girlfriend and I having honest conversations with them throughout this entire process, ODA has continually misrepresented the cost and benefits of their membership, the impact it has on their members, or how they handle business.

We recently got married and are trying to build a future for ourselves. We've begged Meridian and ODA not to ruin a young family's chance at a home, but they don't have the heart to care. We've never taken anything from them, but they want to take everything from us.

Greetings,
My name is Mary Burch and membership number under my parents is 579 FC.

My parents have had a life time membership since the 1970's. When Saginaw Bay resort only had one road and about 10 campsites. The membership included 3 weeks a year and one holiday. When us kids started joining we were given rules and regulations that included 1 week per year and could not make any reservations until 30 days or less. My parents who are the master members could make a reservation up to 3 months in advance. Anybody could use the one holiday per year.
The last rules and regulations we were sent was in 2015.
This year however, outdoor reservations have changed all the rules.

1. if the master member is using the site we are charged. In 2015 the rules said up to 3 people could use the sites. They charged my sister 155 dollar for one week which was suppose to be free. July 26th trough August 1.

2. They charged 5 dollars per vehicle, never been done before. And is not in any rules or regulations. July 26th trough August 1.

3. I call Grand Haven for the holiday weekend. Trying to use my free week.
I was told that we have to call the day of the reservation (Sept 3rd) and they would let us know if any thing is available. Called on August 3rd. According to websites you do not have to be a member to go camping there. So I asked what the cost would be and the woman at reservations told me it is for full membership paying customers.

My parents pay several thousand per year for their membership and while I realize I only pay 20/per year for my free week. Outdoor Adventures Inc or Camp Life is trying to keep long term members out.

Today, March 4, 2021 I tried to make a reservation for a campsite. It took going through 5 resorts to find a site with full hook up. The new system that allows specific site reservations is limiting availability. Looking at the contract I signed in capital letters it states "OAI, it's management and staff cannot guarantee a specific site in a specific resort. OAI further disclaims any representations made to the contrary." So how can you change this contract to allow reserving of specific sites in specific resorts? This limits availability of sites, making it nearly impossible to get a site. If you are going to breach this contract, then I want my $15, 000.00 that I paid refunded. You can no longer honor my contract as we agreed to.

Sincerely
Scott & Rebecca Waldron
membership #48071-UG
Scott E-mail [protected]@gmail.com
Rebecca E-mail [protected]@yahoo.com
Scott [protected]
Rebecca [protected]

On 4/21 /17. We purchased an outdoor adventure camping membership, in 2018 due to unforseen circumstance, we sold our camper, I called and told the person on phone our situation, we paid off our loan agreement, however we want out of monthly dues, no longer camping, we were told we needed to pay a rather hefty dollar amount to get out of this, oav by all accounts is a Hugh scam, we called on numerous occasions, were told no vacancy, all but twice, those were late late in the season, very frustrating company to deal with, money grabbing crooks, don't waste your money, any advice or help out there?outdoor adventures needs investigating!