Camp ground tried to charge me for there heat tape

[past-MIdirector]

I've already posted a review on RV review but would like to heard from forum members on this. From the first of November till December 23 we stayed at one of the only Campgrounds in the county that was open in Monroe, MI. We paid by the month $500 full hook ups but had to pay the electric which park charged .14 per HWH well about the residential of .08 per KWH.
After the first month I happen to notice that the parks heat tape to their faucet to each site was on the sites meters when the heat tape on our site tripped the GFI. There so called electrician told me when I started to question him. I question management about the heat tape and was told that's the way it was done and I'm the first to ever complained about it being on their electric bill.
We left on the morning of Dec 23 and read the meter after I unhooked. The office was told and no one was there at the office or out to read the meter when we left, The DW had told the young man in the office that we pay by check only and was not allowed to charge anything to our credit card they had on file.
Fast forward to Jan 2 we receive a bill by email with a reading higher than what I wrote down and statement they had taken amount from our charge card on file. The DW called the bank and put a stop payment since the meter reads were wrong and that they used our credit card without permission. Yesterday got an email asking what my problem was over the few cents per day for their heat tape on my bill. An email yesterday was that they would take .10 per day for their heat tape which can out to $5. I will be sending a complain to Good Sam since this is a Good Sam park and a complain to the MI AG on the recommendations from the MI Utility Commission.
There winter rates are $35 per day includes electric, $200 a week includes electric, and $500 a month and you pay them .14 per KWH for electric. Other than a laundry room, wifi that we didn't use because it showed a security warning on our computer, low voltage, and $40 deposit for there internet TV box there was no other amenities.

[beemerphile1]

Like some have stated, a frost proof hydrant is only frost proof when it is off.

I guess you either pay to keep the hydrant working or the alternative is for them to turn the water off.

[dodge_guy]

Wel that is one review i would ignore on RVPR! Much bigger things to worry about than that. I can see you would also be upset if you got there and the water was off or frozen!

[John___Angela]

past-MIdirector wrote:
The .10 a day is what they are offering which is way low for a 500 watt heat tape but it's about the fact they are charging people for there heat tape that's on there faucet and people don't know this is wrong. Heat tape will add $10 to $15 a month to the average electric bill per month in MI during the winter. I have installed my share while living there but most that I used was 900 watts. This adds up to a lot of money with 15 to 20 people each month paying the park because they were to cheap to put in frost proof faucets!

Hmm. Heat tape is usually 18 watts per foot or less. So a 3 foot piece would be about the draw of a 50 watt bulb. Maybe a decimal point got moved somehow. Some heat tape is 7 watts per foot.

[colliehauler]

I agree with the others your making a mountain out of a mole hill. I would have been happy to find a campground willing to deal with the problems of staying open in bitter cold temps.

[Ivylog]

Even with frost proof hydrants you have to have heat strip if you leave the water on. They are charged commercial rates, not residential.:S $0.14 sounds about right. Move on PastPres of what? Good Sam's?

[AprilWhine]

2oldman wrote:
Out of all this, the only thing I can see you have a legit complaint about is the faulty meter reading.

First, use your water tank when it's cold, not a heated hose. That way there's no electric use. But complaining about paying for it when it uses very little electric is uber-cheapness. Whether you give them "permission" to use your card is questionable. It's likely an innkeeper's right to do that since they probably require a card to even let you stay there.

And last, are you really going to continue being upset over 10 cents a day?? I wouldn't care for the low voltage, but that wifi warning doesn't scare me in the least. They all do that.

past-MIdirector wrote:
The .10 a day ... This adds up to a lot of money with 15 to 20 people each month paying the park because they were to cheap to put in frost proof faucets!

Pay it and get on with your life.

This is great advice. You're going to spend waaaaaay more than $0.10/day on ulcer medicine if you keep going the way you're going.

[Lantley]

Really.
In order for you to stay there you need the tape and the electric to go with it.
Does it matter whose meter the electric is billed to.
Sure the CG could install dedicated circuits to each site and raise their rates. Is that what you prefer?
There is no free lunch. Letting each camper pay there own way via the electric bill is the preferred way vs. adding a surcharge or raising the rates to everyone.
If you did not want to use or pay for the heat tape, you could simply unplug the tape and do without it? Do you want the CG to provide you the tape and electric for free?

[peaches_cream]

Doubt you will ever get a chance to complain about the fee's again. You will be banned from the premises and for good reason. I bet they will settle if you promise to never return again.

[2oldman]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
The credit card is their SECURITY DEPOSIT against nonsense like this.

Yep.

[vic46]

As regards the charge to the credit card. You authorized the charge when you gave them the card. The card is "insurance" against skippers and damage. Just like any hotel, most of which will not rent a room on a cash basis, no "insurance" regarding damage and skippers.
The whole situation seems like an unnecessary aggravation. Move on!

[time2roll]

Go with the weekly rate next time. If the monthly rate was still less then let it go. Life is too short for this.

[Francesca_Knowl]

If each site has its own heat tape plugged in to that meter, why isn't that a legitimate cost to you??? It's not like they're charging you for underground pipes that need no protection from freezing. Furthermore, the heat tape not only guarantees you water, it preheats it BEFORE it gets to your water heater- if only a little.

As far as "forbidding them to charge your credit card": say what??? The credit card is their SECURITY DEPOSIT against nonsense like this. When you gave them the number, you authorized the use....withholding here is no different than if you'd stopped paying site rent before vacating.

[JJBIRISH]

frost proof faucets… :B

they would need a frost proof or heated hydrant, that would be approved for connection to a public water service … a little different animal than a home-side wall faucet…

[bigdogger]

I doubt there would be an easy way for them to have the heat tape and not have it plugged into a nearby electrical box and I seriously doubt they would spend the money to have both the metered box and an unmetered box at every site, just to hook up the heat tape. In my opinion, it is clearly just the cost of having water available at your site.
As for the rate being much higher than the residential rate, commercial rates (which is what an RV park is likely to be charged) are often much higher than residential rates. It's politics. The State public utility commission doesn't generate nearly as many irate voters by approving requests by utility companies for higher rates on businesses than they do by allowing rates to rise on John Q. Public.

[Homer1]

Man you are really nit-picking. Most places shut down all water in Nov in the N. Midwest. I would be happy to pay for water even if it meant paying for a heat tape. As I understand it, you were there for some period of time. Like an o/p said you could have filled your tank before the cold set in, then you would have spent more running the furnace all night to keep it from freezing.
Pay the difference and my advice don't diss the c/g owner, he is providing a service that is rare in the North in the winter. If you do not like him, don't come back, but giving him a bad review because you don't understand business is not fair.