ComplaintsforCozy Pond Camping Resort, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 14th, the campground owner emailed me saying he would be mailing me my $ 500 deposit for the 2023 seasonal camping season. On August 15th, he emailed stating I would be refunded once I vacated the campground and all fees were paid. On September 2nd, he emailed me accusing me of a sending him a package that I am unfamiliar with and his assumption is 100% wrong and unfounded. I have no knowledge of said "package" or its contents, but it clearly upset him. He likes to jump to conclusions and as a result he evicted me at that time. He never reached out to me to discuss this incident, I have since sent him my amazon order history, but again, we have never discussed this like grown adults and I have not had a chance to state my side. He is quick to forget he selected 9 families to not renew for seasonal sites next year based on his personal bias, so he has plenty of enemies. On September 8th, my campsite was fully vacated. On September 9th, I emailed the owners confirming it was vacated and requested the $ 500 refund be mailed, less the Aug 1 - Sept 8th electric usage. I asked for confirmation the refund was mailed and got no reply regarding such. On September 16th, I emailed the owners asking if the refund was mailed. I have not received any reply. Today, September 20th, I still have not received my refund or any communication of it being process or sent. He is an arrogant owner who has no business being in the hospitality business.

  Business response

  09/26/2022

  The full story is much different than what is stated here.  During a period of time this summer, we began to notice inflatable swimming pools being set up on several different camp sites.  After talking with our insurance agent, we determined that it is too much of a liability for us to allow people to have these pools.  As a consolation, we stated that we would allow small ‘kiddie’ pools.  It should be noted that we do have a large in ground pool and a pond suitable for swimming available to all who stay in our campground. 
  On Thursday, August 11, 2022, this new policy was communicated through e-mail and posted on a Facebook group page.  Ms. ******* (and a few others) responded negatively to this decision even though we explained our reasoning.  Because the comments were becoming increasingly negative and Ms. ******* was making insulting and offensive comments to other people, we turned off commenting and explained that we would put out a statement later that evening.  So, on the evening of the 11th, we sent another communication which recognized that some people were unhappy with the decision. At that time, we offered a full refund to anyone (if they felt that this policy was too harsh) who signed a contract and paid for or put a deposit on a site for the 2023 camping season, even though they signed a contract stating otherwise. This was in effect until Saturday, August 13 at 12:00 noon. No one took advantage of this option. However, on this same day, Ms. ******* was found to have a stack (8) of kiddie pools on her site.  She was approached and asked about them, but she said they were for all her neighbors. Later that evening, when the owner was driving a tractor which pulls a wagon for customer wagon rides throughout the campground, her husband yelled several times as the wagon was driving by, “Hi ****** ***.”  Some of the kids heard the comments and repeated it to their parents which is how we knew about it.  Again, they were approached at their site and had a discussion.  The next morning, it was decided that their contract would not be renewed for 2023 due to their inappropriate behavior, but they would be allowed to stay until our closing day, October 10, 2022, explaining how any refund would happen.  She responded that same evening with anger and frustration, asking that her ‘camping family’ be allowed a refund if they should decide to leave with her family. We did agree to that (even though they signed a contract stating otherwise) and gave her friends 24 hours to notify us.  Only one family chose to leave with them. 
  On August 21, we received an e-mail from Ms. ******* expressing her frustration and placing blame on three other people but taking no responsibility for her/their actions.
  On August 31, a package was received from Amazon addressed to the owner containing extremely offensive items, sent anonymously.
  On September 1, a package was received from Amazon addressed to the owner’s wife again containing an extremely offensive item with an extremely insulting message, and again sent anonymously. Over a few days of talking with Amazon representatives, it was confirmed that these items were sent from their account.  Once we had confirmation, we evicted this family citing the clause in the contract that discusses inappropriate behavior.  They have since denied their actions and have sent a message demanding a refund for the amount of time they could not be in the campground until October 10th,and next year’s $500 deposit.  At this time we are looking into the legalities of this.
  She claims that we selected nine families for non-renewal.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Besides her family, there was one other family’s contract that was not renewed as there were behavior and respect issues with them as well.  Any other families who are leaving after this season are choosing to leave for various reasons.  Most had financial responsibilities including buying a new house, some are just too busy.
  We have communicated with Ms. ******* several times to discuss payment and contractual issues.  When we notified her of her non-renewal we did inform her that she would be refunded her $500 deposit once she vacated the site, even though she signed a document stating there would be a $500 cancelation fee.  Once she was evicted, the terms changed.  We have chosen to discontinue communications with her as all questions have been answered but she continues to harass us. Once we have answers as to the legalities of her signed contract, non-renewal versus eviction, we will let her know what she can expect.  She does have a copy of the signed contract that she can refer to. 
  We purchased this campground 12 years ago and have worked diligently to create an atmosphere where families can enjoy time together outside during the nice weather months.  We do our best to be fair and accommodating to everyone.  It is distressing that one person can use this forum to spread lies and hate.
  We have all written communications, messages, and Facebook posts as well as the offensive material sent through the mail that can be used as proof to these statements.  At this time, we have chosen not to attach them to this complaint but can easily do so if needed.    

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am attaching a word document stating the full complaint and situation. In short, the staff cancelled a reservation in error. Then lied about the cancellation, multiple times, refused to let me see paperwork upon 2 requests when we first arrived. They are refusing to rectify the situation. Luckily there is video and audio conversations from the copany to dispute their claims.

  Business response

  08/23/2022

  Mr. ********** reserved 3 camp sites online, choosing the sites he wanted.  When reserving online, customers are asked to add information about their equipment.  This is the only information we have and have no way of knowing what their needs are without any other communication.  Since reserving in May, he never contacted us to let us know anything different or to confirm his reservations even though he questioned them.  Upon checking in, he told us he made a mistake and only needed 2 sites and to cancel the third site.  Our employee explained our cancellation policy to him, which is that he would receive a camping credit minus a $20 fee. (It's important to note that we turned a number of people away that weekend as all our sites were reserved, until he cancelled one site. The $20 fee is to encourage people to make thoughtful decisions when reserving.)  She then asked which site he wanted to cancel, explaining which were tent sites and which were full hook up sites using our site map to show him. He very clearly stated, 'Let's go ahead and cancel A30.'   He did ask on his way out why A30 was cancelled and was told it was because he requested it.  We did review our recording when we first heard from him, and this was the case.  Unfortunately, it has since been recorded over and we no longer have access to the transaction.  

  Once the reservation was cancelled, it was available to anyone to reserve, so it was reserved online.  Again, going on the information we had, someone had reserved a full hook-up site.  So, when his friends came into the office to register (as they were after hours check-ins), she stated that Mr. ********** cancelled the wrong site and told them just to set up on A30 instead of the site we held open for them.  We replied that someone had reserved that site and that they had to move to the site they were supposed to be on.  She did ask if the new reservation campers could move but since they reserved a site with full hook-ups, we thought they needed the connection.  His friends were camping in tents and should have been on a tent site. I could not offer alternatives as there were none available.  We don't know of any campground where campers can just choose to change sites without repercussions.  Again, we had no way of knowing that the people who chose that site were using tents due to the information they gave us. We had no idea they were trying to charge a boat motor and would have advised against it, though no one contacted us.

  Our maintenance person checks and cleans sites daily.  We will make sure it is done properly from this time forward, though this is the first we heard about his site not being up to our standards.  He never contacted us to let us know about it nor did he ask for it to be cleaned.  Had he contacted us it would have been taken care of immediately.

  When families arrive and check-in, we hand them a packet (and explain it) with all pertinent information.  We don't know what he is referring to when he says we wouldn't show him a packet.

  The broken electrical cover has been repaired but the water faucet was not and is not leaking.  Our electrical outlets only require adapters if you are plugging anything but a 30 amp plug into them, which we would have gladly explained and lent to Mr. ********** and his friends had we known there was a problem.  Again, Mr. **********, his friends, nor the third party ever contacted us about any electrical issue, or we would have taken care of it immediately.

  As for wi-fi, we upgraded our system two years ago at a cost of $40,000 and contract with this same company on a monthly basis to answer and service all concerns.  Mr. **********'s site is very close to a wi-fi tower, so we are confused why he didn't have access nor why he never asked about it throughout his stay. Had he contacted our office it would have been taken care of immediately.

  We take great offense at being called liars. We have owned this campground for 12 years and have worked extremely hard to upgrade and build a legitimate business and family friendly campground. We have a 4.2 out 5 rating on Google and 27 out of 30 from Good Sam (as non-members), an independent survey rating us as one of the top campgrounds in the region.

  At any time during his stay, Mr. ********** could have communicated with us about his concerns, but never once contacted us about any issues. He waited until after he enjoyed his weekend to send us a list of complaints and ask for money back instead of a camping credit.  He had months to make the changes he needed to make but did nothing.  His credit card would have been charged three times, so he should have known he reserved three sites.  He could have easily called or e-mailed us to rectify this or to find out about our cancellation policy.  He did nothing and now wants to blame us for a list of infractions instead of taking responsibility for his own lack of action in getting necessary information.  

   

   

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