Be aware of Encore tactics

[alschuetz]

I made a reservation for an Encore property in Florida on October 2nd.  The reservation was made for early November and they asked me for a credit card and would charge half of the reservation to it.  Last week My wife and I got news that our daughter has been diagnosed with cancer.  So we decided to change our trip and go up to North Carolina and visit our daughter.  I started calling the campsites to notify them that we needed to cancel our reservations.

When I called the Encore RV Resort, they told me that they could not credit me for the full amount of the deposit.  They said that Encore corporate, Equity Lifestyle Properties, had instituted a policy to withhold $25 of any deposit.  They gave me the corporate telephone number and I called them.  There wasn't an answer, so I left a complete message detailing my predicament and a request to have them refund the $25.  They left me a message the following end of day stating that this is a new cancellation and deposit policy as of October 18th and I would not be getting a refund.

I left them a message again stating that they can't retroactively charge me for a charge I was not made aware of and I fully expect a refund.  I have not heard anything back from them, so I have taken steps to negate the charge.

My recommendation to any of you that are Thousand Trails, Encore or any of their properties, is to do your diligence and understand all of their charges before doing business with them.  As for my wife and I, we will finish our membership with Thousand Trails, Encore  and Equity Lifestlye properties and then avoid doing business with them, if at all possible.  We have respect and integrity prefer to do our business with like minded concerns. 

 

[casey3830]

Certainly understand your frustration and dissatisfaction for Encore.  Unfortunately, whether an Encore or KOA or whatever, they all have their policies.  We have had to pay a cancellation charge at campgrounds, hotels and condos, so their policy is not unique to them.  Many people use all kinds of excuses, so it would be difficult to separate those that are real with those that aren't.  I hope your daughter's health improves.

 

[RVoorhis318]

Even doctors charge for a no show these days but I do agree with Al, if the policy wasn't in place at the time the reservation was made and you weren't notified of any policy change prior to your cancellation I would dispute it with my credit card company too. Look at their website and see if the policy has been changed or is written on the site at all, I had a similar incident and the credit card company pretty much told me they had to abide by the company policy based on the time of the charge to your account and they will refer to the company website. Good Luck

Rob

 

[RVoorhis318]

The policy is on their site information make a recording of your voicemail if you didn't delete it!

 

[alschuetz]

Thanx, I will try to make a copy of the message recording.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

None of us like cancellation fees, but they are becoming quite common, so "due diligence" is a necessity.

I find that individually owned campgrounds are often flexible on such fees and willing to make exceptions for health emergencies and other events that are totally out of your control. Corporate places are not - nobody seems to have the authority or even the customer-interest to make an exception for any reason or anybody.

A related fee is for reservation services, usually those made through a third party. They get paid for making a reservation whether you choose to use it or not. And sometimes get paid again for cancelling it. It's fair enough if you think about it - they did the work on the transaction and get no profit from the site rental.

 

[Jim Dick]

We just had to cancel a reservation at a KOA on our trip south. They charge $10 for the canceling.

 

[alschuetz]

The Florida State Park contractor for reservations charges $17 to cancel.

 

[Jeff]

Our solution is to not make reservations in all but the most extreme cases. We normally call ahead a couple of hours before arrival and ask if they are full. Most will usually just say "come on in" if they have space.

This spring we called the Lake Tahoe City RV Park at 2:00PM and were told they only had 1 spot left that would hold a 40' m/h so Sue gave them a CC to hold the site for us.

When we arrived an hour later the park was 25% full with many suitable sites. Then we found that we were charged a $7.50 reservation fee for calling the park office on the phone. :-[

 

[Jim Dick]

Jeff,

That is what we do as well. Pat had made this reservation and then read her notes from a previous visit. She canceled immediately. We were not surprised by the charge and it was worth changing. 

 

[alschuetz]

Got a call from the Encore campground in Crystal River last week asking me if we were coming in.  I told them I had cancelled and what had transpired during the cancellation process.  The lady told me that it wasn't in their computer and would talk with their manager.  She called back to tell me that they would give me a full refund.  I am thinking that they got a call from my credit card company...

 

[SeilerBird]

I am with Jeff and Jim, I only make reservations in cases of extreme emergency. I have only arrived at one campground in the last ten years that didn't have a space available, so I see no need to pay in advance.

 

[GR 'Scott' Cundiff]

There have been a couple of times over the past six months that I've canceled a reservation for one reason or another.  As I recall both times were at COE parks and both times it has cost me $10-$12.  In my opinion it's just the cost of doing business.  We don't like camp Walmart and we don't like uncertainty in our travels so we make reservations.  I don't think that makes us smarter than those who operate differently but it suits us.

 

[John From Detroit]

I make reservatiopns at the membership campgrounds I stay at but how far in advance?

Well.. If it's the Independence day weekend, as far as possible. (3 months)

If it's 2 weekends ago (Last 2 weeks on OCT.. I pull off in a rest area and call in the reservation on my way to the park.

 

[thomasamski]

We very rarely make campground reservations. There is no need to, unless you wi8sh to stay for a week or more.

 

[hpykmpr]

In early November we completed a 6 month trip to the west coast and back to Florida .We had reservations for every campground stay on our trip but two and they were both Military campgrounds who we called the day of our arrival to see if they had space available.Some of our reservations were made two months in advance, some one month ,some a week and some a day or two. We made and cancelled quite a few reservations but have never been charged a fee for a cancellation. My point is it is up to the individual as to weather or not they make reservations , we like to know and plan ahead where we are staying. I'm sure a lot of people like to take it day by day ,but whatever the case all campgrounds have their rules for cancellations and I guess it is your responsibility when making a reservation to know what that policy is.

alaschuetz , I'm glad to hear that Encore reconsidered your request for a refund . I think in your case they did the right thing . Sorry to hear of your daughters illness and I hope everything turns out okay. In your situation you should not have had to go through all of what you did to get a refund but I'm glad it worked out okay.  ...... Alan

 

[joelmyer]

Thread drift warning.

The Encore Winter Quarters at Bradenton, Fl is perfectly located for an overnight on our annual trek to Key West.

It's the only place we've stayed in that area that we are going back to.  We stayed there two years ago and it was $30.  Now it's $60.

Two years ago I talked to a nice lady at Bradenton.  As I recall she said "We have plenty of sites available, don't need a deposit, just come on in".

This time it's the corporate call/reservation center.  Again, plenty of spaces and the young feller was pretty clear about the $25 reservation fee if I cancelled more than 48 hours before, and $60 within 48 hours.

So grumble, grumble, bitch gripe moan complain.  If you want what they're selling you pay the price.

So,... 1st question:  Any alternatives?  Bradenton is about right for 4 easy pulls to Key West. Say +/- 25 miles.

The Encore park is close & easy to the interstate and it meets the restaurant nearby criteria. 

We've stayed at Sun Lake which flunks the Restaurant nearby criteria and it awfully tight for a one night stand. 

We stayed at  Lake Manatee SP.  Nice but a haul out there, no restaurant nearby.  Well really it's about 10 miles but you wind up driving it 4 or six times for food & fuel.

2nd Question is how to negotiate a better price for next year.  Maybe get the phone number for the nice lady on site.  Call for availability & go in without reservations.

Joel