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.

[Lantley]

doxiemom11 wrote:
Some are not reading correctly. The heat tape was on the water pipe and using electricity whether or not the OP was even on the site. It was keeping the parks pipes warm so they wouldn't freeze. If the park intends to be open during the winter months, then they the park need to pay for whatever they need to be open and providing water. Or, they need to advertise that during times of cold weather the water may not be on. It is not up to all the rver's that stop to pay to keep their pipes in working order. It is up to the longer term campers to pay the electric bill for the electric they use for their rig. We once were at a park that we later found out that the PARK OFFICE was wired onto our electric meter! After much go around we were reimbursed for most of the electric charges over the 3 months we were there.

My impression was they read a meter when the OP arrived and when they departed and charged for the electric used. The OP did get the benefit/use of the electric while he was there and charged accordingly.
The OP is only being charged for the electric used while he is occupying the site.
I do agree there maybe an issue with when the final reading was done.
In the end the amount the OP feels he is be overcharged is negligible.
Yes the CG is protecting their equipment in order for campers to have water. I don't see a problem with the CG's policy

[doxiemom11]

Some are not reading correctly. The heat tape was on the water pipe and using electricity whether or not the OP was even on the site. It was keeping the parks pipes warm so they wouldn't freeze. If the park intends to be open during the winter months, then they the park need to pay for whatever they need to be open and providing water. Or, they need to advertise that during times of cold weather the water may not be on. It is not up to all the rver's that stop to pay to keep their pipes in working order. It is up to the longer term campers to pay the electric bill for the electric they use for their rig. We once were at a park that we later found out that the PARK OFFICE was wired onto our electric meter! After much go around we were reimbursed for most of the electric charges over the 3 months we were there.

[CKNSLS]

Unbelievable! Somethings on this forum never changes...

[Lantley]

wa8yxm wrote:

Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
Bent out of shape and getting all upset about $0.10 per day is really not worth the aggravation.

NO, Actually it is a principle of the think issue, That heat tape protects the park, not the RVer, .

I think the heat tape protects both. The CG can easily protect their equipment by turning off the water.
However if the OP needs to use the water he needs to use and pay for the heat tape as well. The tape and electricity are not required unless there is an end user.

[JJBIRISH]

I think there is a misunderstanding about profiting foe the electric as well…

The the utility charges $5 maybe you can only charge for the electric.. Plus a fee for servicing each site with the now CG’s electric

It would be different if the utility owned the CG meters and the CG wiring and the CG cost of distributing the electric, and the cost of accounting for it…

So even though the electric cost is $5 wouldn’t necessarily mean the total cost they will only charge you will be $5…

The only complaint the OP has is the discrepancy between the meter reading because no one was there to read it immediately after they vacated the site… that they were more than compensated for that… accepting the compensation is an agreement, so no more argument there…

The only real choice for the CG is to turn the water to the sites off, and let people carry water to their rig, or shut the gate…

Since this was the only open CG in the area, it would be an easy decision to just close for the winter…

[LarryJM]

Homer wrote:
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.

I agree with that view point. It seems clear they said that you pay for electric and to get water you have to have the heat tape so you also should pay for that IMO. I think the CG was being very reasonable and to complain and especially give them a bad review is really taking the sour apples on your part to another level.

Larry

[GMandJM]

If they had told you in advance that you would be charged, would you have said "No, thank you" and not had running water at your site after the faucet and pipe froze?

[Cloud_Dancer]

It's a matter of choice and of freedom to choose,.....as in take it or leave it. If you have a question, ask the manager and wait for an answer. If you want to fight it, do it.
Guys who are cheapskates stay/overnight at Walmart. That's what I do. It's convenient and I don't have to talk to anyone.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Well, after four pages of knockin' the O.P. upside his head, maybe it's time to consider that according to his profile he only started fulltiming last summer!

Seems to me that no matter how long one's been "recreationally" RVing, fulltiming's got to be one steep learning curve.

First winter especially must be a shock, even more so in a climate like Michigan!

[EsoxLucius]

An additional ten cents a day to have water in freezing temperatures is a service the market will bear. Stay somewhere else if you don't like it. Some people, sheesh!

[Pogoil]

If I owned the camp ground I would remove the heat tape you are complaining about and let your faucet freeze.

Then you would really have something to complain about.

Guess what the light on the meter box at many parks is wired to that site meter too.

Pogoil.

[wa8yxm]

Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
Bent out of shape and getting all upset about $0.10 per day is really not worth the aggravation.

NO, Actually it is a principle of the think issue, That heat tape protects the park, not the RVer, it is property of the park, Installed by the park, and it is thus the responsibility of the park. It may only be a few cents.. But one of the first major Hacker busts was because of, as I recall, a 17 cent discrepancy in a bill. Investigation resulted in hundreds of man hours effort, at least two suicides (The criminals) and I believe one arrest. They were spies who had gotten into a military communications net.. And a 17 cent discrepancy in a bill is what nailed them.

So I would say the O/P has a case.. BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE...

I do not know the law in Mi as it applies to this thread (I know quite a bit of MI law but not this part, I'm from MI after all).

But many states have a rule "You can not profit from electrical charges in a campground" (Well paraphrased) that is if the Electric company charges you 5.00 for the power to that site, you can only charge the camper 5.00 you can not charge him 20.00.. and it appears this CG is doign that as well.

Someone ask about Defrauding an inkeeper.

NO. The bill status is not unpaid, it is "DISPUTED" Now if it goes to a settlement Either court ordered or negotiated outside of court, and STILL remains unpaid.. There might be such a charge.. But frankly. I doubt it. Not many know what or why that charge exists.

[B_O__Plenty]

Dakzuki wrote:
Great way to shorten one's life worrying about******like this. How much time was investing in this little affair? I for one have an hourly rate that makes that $5 chump change. Time spent worrying about this is time you wont get back. I'd save it and complain to St Peter when you get to the pearly gates....you'll have lots of time to worry about it then.

X2 Well Stated! Some people are just so cheap you wonder how they sleep at night..

B.O.

[Francesca_Knowl]

It's hard for me to see how RV parks can be required to "only charge what they pay for electricity"- wouldn't that mean they'd have to constantly adjust rates that include it?

It may be that if metered, they can't add an upcharge beyond the rate they're paying, but there's no indication here that's the O.P.'s complaint, which seems mostly to be that he's paying to keep the water pipes serving his site thawed. I just don't get the logic that says a user shouldn't pay for that!

[mowermech]

IMO, there is a principle involved here. Customer satisfaction and customer care.
There may also be a legal issue, depending on state law. Some states will not allow any business other than an electric utility to make a profit on electricity sales. A campground or RV park is not a utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission (or whatever it is called in that state), so they can only charge what they pay for electricity.
I have "wintered over" in Montana twice. Once in an RV park, and once in a fifth wheel in a mobile home park. In the RV park, the electric was included in the cost per month. In the mobile home park, the electricity was metered. I paid for the heat tape on my water line, the park paid for the heat on their water faucet.
IMO, past-MIDirector was completely justified in complaining. There is an issue of principle and law involved.