Lost my fee

[Itchn2go]

I booked a site at Endless Caverns Capground in September to arrive on October 22nd.
I added insurance so that if I cancelled I could get a cash refund. Nothing was mentioned about a 48 hour rule as I recall.
As it turned out we could leave early and we changed our arrival to October 20th 2015.
i suffer from back pain and my right hip has been giving me trouble. When I awoke this am I had severe pain and I went to my orthopedic doctor and after X-rays determined it was indeed coming from my back. Needless to say we could not make our planned trip.
The Moho was packed, perishables in the fridge and this was to be our first extended trip. We were terribly disappointed and called the campground to let them know we could not be there and asked for our refund of 208.25.
Because it was not 48 hours before our arrival, NO we could not get our money back.
In fairness they offered to move us to any time before Nov 16' their closing date.
Because of my medical condition, I could not guarantee that I could do that. Even though the situation was a act of God and no ones fault, they could not deviate from their policy, so I lost my 208.25' they lost. A customer and caused a PR nightmare. If you ever need to cancel at this campground, be sure it's 48 hours before your arrival.

[Itchn2go]

I appreciate all of your opinions. While I sat all day yesterday, I thought about changing the date and then cancelling.
I am 80 years old and its not in my nature to do that.

I owned a family florist business and it was one of the most successful in Virginia. We practiced the golden rule and had a very liberal refund/cancellation policy and that's what kept our clientell coming back time and time again. we were in business for 65 years so we must have done something right.

Again and one last time..If it had not been a medical situation, there would not have been one peep from me. My generation is not used to having to read everything on a website before booking, BUT, I will in the future.
Thanks to each of you for your opinions. It shows the diversified nature of our RV community,

[Hiking_Hunter]

Instead of just taking the loss, take them up on the offer to book a time before they close. Who knows, you MAY be able to make the trip then. And, if not, you might ask them to give you credit for the trip for when they reopen.

[westernrvparkow]

Merrykalia wrote:
Should have changed the date until November 2, then in 3-4 days, call and cancel that one. You would be more than the 48 hours, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately for your scam, not all park owners are total idiots. Our software will track these changes, and you can bet we will have a note that you called and changed your reservation dates. We keep copious notes to prevent problems down the road when you have forgotten all the changes you have made and show up on a date other than your scheduled arrival. The fact we would catch your obvious attempt to cheat the system is just icing on the cake. And people trying stuff like this is exactly why we don't waver from our cancellation policies. This is the proof you cannot trust what people tell you.

[SDcampowneroper]

Wonderful ideas here on this topic, Enacting them, challenging.
, the OP is asking the camp for an 'act of God' refund after the fact.
I am very sorry for the OP's health troubles, but does a personal health issue equate to an' act of God' . ?
Quality camps do listen to the guests, give due where it is warranted.
I give my sympathy to all who are challenged in planning for health, family and Service reasons.

[dodge_guy]

toedtoes wrote:

Roy&Lynne wrote:
And why can motels give a 6pm cancellation. I'm glad you guys are rich enough to toss away money, but some of us, money is precious

It's not about tossing away money. It's about knowing and accepting the cancellation policies before making the reservations. Whether it's a campground or a hotel, I check the cancellation policy and accept that sometimes something will happen outside of the policy and I will eat the reservation fee. It's an acceptable risk.

It`s also about taking care of customers! Yes, they had a policy. If they cancelled just to go to a different campground then by all means they should pay the full amount, or part of it! it`s another thing when the cancellation is not preventable. then they should look at the situation and adjust accordingly. I believe its called customer business relations! both sides can make it good or bad.

[toedtoes]

Roy&Lynne wrote:
And why can motels give a 6pm cancellation. I'm glad you guys are rich enough to toss away money, but some of us, money is precious

It's not about tossing away money. It's about knowing and accepting the cancellation policies before making the reservations. Whether it's a campground or a hotel, I check the cancellation policy and accept that sometimes something will happen outside of the policy and I will eat the reservation fee. It's an acceptable risk.

[Roy_Lynne]

And why can motels give a 6pm cancellation. I'm glad you guys are rich enough to toss away money, but some of us, money is precious

[Roy_Lynne]

That is exactly why I no longer go to KOA's and they have lost lots of money as we were great customers, but we broke down and it took a couple days to get they part we needed and they refused to refund even a part of the money, and they didn't offer to let us come at a later time either. This was in spring and I know in my heart they had no trouble renting out our spot as it was right on I 5.
Its greed pure and simple but lots of time they lose more money by being stupid.

[summerhouse]

I absolutely, totally agree with the campground cancellation notice and policy. They are a business, and us campers can probably as a whole drive campgrounds nuts with date changes, cancellations, no shows, etc.
My only comment in this case, as it was originally stated, is that 'the original reservation date was for Oct. 22. She then adjusted it to Oct. 20. Couldn't she just adjust it back to the original date? Then call and cancel. .??
Seems like the 'fine letter of the law/rule' in this particular case.

[Golden_HVAC]

One of the 'tips' for cancling a hotel room in New York City is first to 'extend the stay' then to call back to cancel while you have more than 3 days before your newly scheduled arrival.

So basically if you have reservations on the 22nd to 27th, then you call and ask it be changed to 24th to 30th. Then call back and say you want to cancel the reservation with more than 48 hours notice.

Anyway it is a good reason to avoid reserving a space! I hardly ever make reservations, so I am never in a campground that is so crowded that I can not get in there.

Good Luck,

Fred.

[colliehauler]

I have lost a fee at a campground before. It was in their rules and I understood those rules. If I had been able to go there would have been a spot for me.

I thought it was generous of the campground to offer you another date to use. No good deed goes unpunished. Instead you complain about rules that were posted.

I hope you feel better and can use it before November 16th.

[Merrykalia]

Should have changed the date until November 2, then in 3-4 days, call and cancel that one. You would be more than the 48 hours, so there shouldn't be a problem.

[DutchmenSport]

Cancellation policy doesn't sound so unreasonable. Here's Indiana's DNR (State Parks). If you make a reservation and cancel, somewhere along the line, you're going to loose some money:

All Campgrounds (excluding youth and rally areas) and Rent - A - Camp Cabins

If a reservation is cancelled 8 or more days prior to arrival, a flat $10 cancellation fee will be charged (per reservation that is cancelled.)

If a reservation is cancelled between 1 and 7 days prior to arrival, the first night's rental fee plus tax will be charged as a cancellation fee (per reservation that is cancelled.)

If a reservation is cancelled on or after the day of arrival, the customer will forfeit their entire rental fee.

If a customer disputes the cancellation penalty

Where applicable, the "no hassle" policy may come into play, per the direction of the CRS vendor Customer Service Director

All other disputes should be directed to the CRS Administrator through the CRS vendor Customer Service Supervisor.

The preferred method of contact is detailed email to the CRS Administrator.

The agent should tell the customer he/she will receive a call back from Senior Management at DNR.

NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

Cancellations may be done through the call center or on the web up until one day prior to arrival.

Cancellations on or after the day of arrival will be processed by the property and/or the DNR CRS administrator.

Partial cancellations are not allowed. The entire reservation must be cancelled.

[toedtoes]

RAS43 wrote:
The OP already stated that the campground has already offered to move the stay out until Nov '16. I think that is very fair as the OP has over a year to get the trip in.

I believe the OP meant that they will extend the offer up to their season closing date of Nov 16, 2015. Not to November 2016.

[RAS43]

The OP already stated that the campground has already offered to move the stay out until Nov '16. I think that is very fair as the OP has over a year to get the trip in.