Reserve America $59.95 charge

[jimbowilly]

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)

[wbwood]

Just went through the process for a NC State Park and did not have anything like what others mentioned. For those that are getting the thing on theirs, are you being charged a reservation fee? We get charged $6 per reservation. Maybe that is a way for them to recoup costs? Maybe they have an agreement with certain states to do that or something. Just throwing out ideas.

[rollexx]

Must be in certain states only. I use RA all the time for Oregon State parks. Just ran a test and there is no sign of this on their Oregon parks sites.

[3dpete]

I got the same charge though it is now $64.95. Turns out these crooks(ACT Active advantage) are the company that writes the software (Reserve America) for the state parks (and other similar online reservation sites.) They stick a link in the middle of the reservation page that says "Receive $10 off this reservation today, join active advantage" It looks like the link leads to more info about the discount but by clicking it you have just purchased the service!!!!!! There is no explanation for what it is even about! You have no idea you just bought into it unless you happen to notice the charge on your credit card 2 months later. I dont even remember clicking the link, I would never be interested in any of their services. Apparently they have slammed many people who registered for marathons with the same BS charges.
This is clearly deception and fraud and its being funded by taxpayer money. These scammers are manipulating a government funded website and ripping off unsuspecting campers.
I called Reserve America, they admitted there was a problem and were "looking into it" didnt sound like there was much effort there. I contacted State Parks and have not gotten an answer..... are they all in on it?
If you see this link while making reservations, please call the CA State Parks and demand they use a different vendor now.

[kohldad]

I just went through the reservation process for a campground in SC and there is no option for opting in or out of anything extra. Since the reservation charge process is different for each state, I wonder if it is an option for the particular state of your reservation.

I will continue to use them when I have to and be careful on all check boxes and text as always.

[Bigdog]

Never had a problem with either one of them and I reserve in Washington and Oregon all the time.

[donut_dave]

recreation.gov and reserveamerica.com IS the same company just a different website for each. they will refer you to one or the other depending on what type of reservation you are making. federal, state, private, etc.

[Billieg2]

rr2254545 wrote:
And you check all the boxes and admitted it was your fault. Why do I need a heads up - used RA numerious times with excellent results.

So maybe others can be aware of this? :R

[rr2254545]

And you check all the boxes and admitted it was your fault. Why do I need a heads up - used RA numerious times with excellent results.

[fla-gypsy]

FunnyCamper wrote:
I use reserveamerica all the time. thanks for the heads up because I will be reading way more careful on my next booking.

x2

[RedRollingRoadb]

WyoTraveler wrote:
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.

X2

[FunnyCamper]

I use reserveamerica all the time. thanks for the heads up because I will be reading way more careful on my next booking.

[jimbowilly]

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]

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]

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.