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jimbowilly's avatar
jimbowilly
Explorer
May 18, 2012

Reserve America $59.95 charge

I was perusing my credit card charges yesterday when I notice a $59.95 charge from ACT. I didn't know what this was so I did a bit of research.

It turns out it is a charge for an Active Advantage membership that I inadvertently signed up for when making a reservation in April through Reserve America.

I called and they removed the charge. Apparently I failed to uncheck a box that signed me up for it. I got one free month (which I didn't realize I had) then the $59.95 charge kicked in. This is a new thing they do I was told.

This is kind of a BS tactic if you ask me, but if you have made campground reservations recently through Reserve America, please keep a close eye on your credit card bill.

(I apologize if this has been covered in another thread but I didn't see anything)
  • FunnyCamper's avatar
    FunnyCamper
    Explorer II
    May 18, 2012
    I use reserveamerica all the time. thanks for the heads up because I will be reading way more careful on my next booking.
  • jimbowilly's avatar
    jimbowilly
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    Son of Norway wrote:
    I just called Active Advantage at 1-866-561-0647 to make sure that this wasn't done to me. I was told that you have to check the box on the reservation screen and then you are taken to another screen describing Active Advantage. You have to check another box there before you are signed up. Sometimes these things are deceptive and easy to get mixed up, and I know that I don't want to get taken for something I had no desire to sign up for. I'm giving the number so people can call up for themselves if they want to.

    Miles


    The number on my credit card bill was 877-228-4881. It must go directly to their billing department.

    They must have changed the way it works because there is NO WAY the site gave me that many options to opt out.

    On the number above at some point the recording even says "for charges labeled ACT or Active on your bank statement please press 3", so they must be getting inundated with calls for this.
  • Son_of_Norway's avatar
    Son_of_Norway
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    I just called Active Advantage at 1-866-561-0647 to make sure that this wasn't done to me. I was told that you have to check the box on the reservation screen and then you are taken to another screen describing Active Advantage. You have to check another box there before you are signed up. Sometimes these things are deceptive and easy to get mixed up, and I know that I don't want to get taken for something I had no desire to sign up for. I'm giving the number so people can call up for themselves if they want to.

    Miles
  • tspecs's avatar
    tspecs
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    Since we use COE, National parks, and National Forest parks, I just use Recreation.gov. I only barely realized that Reserve America is not the same thing. I see that many state parks use Reserve America, so I appreciate the heads up.
  • jimbowilly's avatar
    jimbowilly
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    Oasisbob wrote:
    Yes, that's BS. What is active advantage? I am exactly the type of person who would miss the box and be charged. I wonder if it is a flat yearly reservation fee? That would be profitable for our family and would be interested but should be my choice not theirs. Makes you wonder why they do this?


    Active.Com is a site where you can find local running/cycling/triathlon events and sign up for them on-line. It is useful in that regard.

    Active Advantage is an annual subscription plan that among other things, gives you discounts to the running/cycling/triathlon events. I am not sure if it offers discounts to campgrounds as well.

    I guess sometime in the past Active.Com became affiliated with Reserve America.

    I am usually careful about checking and unchecking these boxes when necessary. But since I haven't had any issues with Reserve America, I wasn't as careful as I should have been.
  • Oasisbob's avatar
    Oasisbob
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    Yes, that's BS. What is active advantage? I am exactly the type of person who would miss the box and be charged. I wonder if it is a flat yearly reservation fee? That would be profitable for our family and would be interested but should be my choice not theirs. Makes you wonder why they do this?
  • mpfireman's avatar
    mpfireman
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    Who says that you have to live in a foreign country to scam us in unwanted charges, we have those same type of people who try this every day, scam us out of our dollars in unwanted charges. Gift card's are among the best in this practice.
  • downtheroad's avatar
    downtheroad
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    I agree with you, this practice really twists my undies.
    We do use Reserve America..Oregon State Campgrounds goes through them.

    I hate it when you have to "opt. out" of an add on instead of "opt in."
    The "opt out" is often an obscure box that needs to be checked.
  • WyoTraveler's avatar
    WyoTraveler
    Explorer
    May 18, 2012
    That is exactly why I use shop safe. Once I use a credit card number on an item it goes tilt and the number is dead. I guess after a while they will figure it out. These are the kind of companies we refer to as honest crooks.

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