USGTC Camp in MA canceled?

[B&M's mom]

Business interruption insurance most likely won’t come into play as it only covers losses caused by specified events. It’s unlikely that the failure to procure permits is one of those events. Liability insurance will not cover economic losses generally. They may have a specialized policy that provides some coverage but it will take a while to sort this all out. I would reach out to the attorney as soon as possible and make sure that you are notified if they do file anything. If they seek bankruptcy protection, you can definitely file a claim with the court.

 

[bogwoppit]

For the individuals, not the camp, trip cancellation insurance should cover this situation.

 

[bostongymdad530]

The lawyer they are referring everyone to is a bankruptcy lawyer. This is so upsetting. They probably put forth a ton of money to pay for the facility, the equipment, the food, the staff, the insurance, the professionals, and whatever else is needed. But it is not the parents' fault they cancelled and we should not lose our money. We've already lost so much. We had a trip to Germany planned while my daughter was scheduled to be at camp. I had to pay for child care while we were away because I couldn't cancel my trip 3 days before departure. I've called the AG in MA and in FL. I hope this gets resolved quickly.

I've called and e-mailed the attorney, Donna Bumgardner, but have not received a response. Looks like she has taken the baton from Michael and Susan Jacobson and is ignoring concerned parents. We'll never make the foolish mistake of paying any camp with a bank check again (but hopefully said camp owners are competent and don't gamble with our money). I'm going to continue to press the AG and monitor the federal pacer site to see if USGTC or the Jacobsons, or both, file a bankruptcy petition.

 

[mrscptcuddles]

I've called and e-mailed the attorney, Donna Bumgardner, but have not received a response. Looks like she has taken the baton from Michael and Susan Jacobson and is ignoring concerned parents. We'll never make the foolish mistake of paying any camp with a bank check again (but hopefully said camp owners are competent and don't gamble with our money). I'm going to continue to press the AG and monitor the federal pacer site to see if USGTC or the Jacobsons, or both, file a bankruptcy petition.

I called today and talked to the attorneys office. She said she needs proof of payment faxed to her. Her fax number is 954-724-4388. I'm hoping once she gets that, refunds will be sent out. Person wouldn't say that would happen. She said they were just retained and needed time.

 

[lw418]

I just spoke to the atty office too. They said they will have an answer on WHETHER OR NOT we will receive a full, partial or any refund in next 10 days! Said in order to qualify for a refund I need to send proof of payment. They said all assets have been turned over from the couple to see what funds they had available. It is so shocking that a USGTC affiliated camp can get away with this. I have a feeling we won’t be getting much of a refund because the person who answered the phone said that they may be filing for bankruptcy!!! What did they do with all our money?????

 

[lw418]

I called today and talked to the attorneys office. She said she needs proof of payment faxed to her. Her fax number is 954-724-4388. I'm hoping once she gets that, refunds will be sent out. Person wouldn't say that would happen. She said they were just retained and needed time.

I havent used a fax machine in years, didnt know they made them anymore! I asked if I could just use an email and they said it may get erased because they think it may be spam! Sounds like they hired a mom and pop law firm!!!

 

[raenndrops]

I havent used a fax machine in years, didnt know they made them anymore! I asked if I could just use an email and they said it may get erased because they think it may be spam! Sounds like they hired a mom and pop law firm!!!

You dont need an actual fax machine.
https://faxzero.com/
As long as you aren't sending more than 4 pages, you can do a free fax... they just put a small ad on the cover page of the fax. It is easy to use. I have used it many times. If you have proof of payment in an "emailable" form, then it can be uploaded to be faxed.

And I suggest in the future that anyone sending a kid to camp purchase trip cancellation insurance (can also be used if the kid gets injured or sick and cant go).

 

[bostongymdad530]

I havent used a fax machine in years, didnt know they made them anymore! I asked if I could just use an email and they said it may get erased because they think it may be spam! Sounds like they hired a mom and pop law firm!!!

I e-mailed her. It's an AOL address. My guess is that she doesn't check it.

 

[bostongymdad530]

I just spoke to the atty office too. They said they will have an answer on WHETHER OR NOT we will receive a full, partial or any refund in next 10 days! Said in order to qualify for a refund I need to send proof of payment. They said all assets have been turned over from the couple to see what funds they had available. It is so shocking that a USGTC affiliated camp can get away with this. I have a feeling we won’t be getting much of a refund because the person who answered the phone said that they may be filing for bankruptcy!!! What did they do with all our money?????

It's absurd that they're telling parents to send proof of payment. They cashed the check. And does this mean that parents that haven't been proactive get shut out? How is that?

 

[raenndrops]

It's absurd that they're telling parents to send proof of payment. They cashed the check.

But the attorney didnt cash the checks .... and some people won't bother with even trying to get their money back ... and some who paid with a credit card will just have their credit card company deal with it ... and if they had trip cancellation insurance, they will file a claim through them.

 

[B&M's mom]

OK, if you are making a claim, the attorney will want to verify that you did indeed pay. The best thing to do is write a letter detailing everything: what you paid for, by what method, the amount. Any information you have. Make copies of cancelled checks (you can usually get those online from your bank if you don't get paper copies). Scan a copy of the letter and the attachments and email that to the attorney or fax it if you can. Letters over a certain size may indeed get caught in the spam filter (and this happens in big firms too) so send a confirming email that states that you sent the letter and attachments and ask them to verify that they received it. Then, make a copy of the letter and attachments for your records and send the original letter and copies of the attachments to the attorney. That way if anything happens to the email, they will get the hard copy. If they do indeed file for bankruptcy, you will need that information to file a claim. If you incurred other expenses because of the cancellation, keep track of those and keep any documents related to those as you will want them for any claim.

Refunds will probably take a while. They probably had to pay vendors/facility people so don't have all the money. Based on what little has been said, it sounds like they are trying to find monies especially if they have already turned assets over to the attorney.

 

[Jenniet817]

There is a reporter investigating and found a lock box on the house of the camp owners. The reporter email is
tparker@hearst.com

She is very helpful in our battle...

 

[biq]

There is a reporter investigating and found a lock box on the house of the camp owners. The reporter email is
tparker@hearst.com

She is very helpful in our battle...

This is so frustrating...

 

[bogwoppit]

There is a reporter investigating and found a lock box on the house of the camp owners. The reporter email is
tparker@hearst.com

She is very helpful in our battle...

There is a reporter investigating and found a lock box on the house of the camp owners. The reporter email is
tparker@hearst.com

She is very helpful in our battle...

Do you have permission to post that email address? Do not want the spam bots to do their worst.

 

[Jenniet817]

Check out WPBF.com at 530 today they are covering our story .

 

[biq]

Check out WPBF.com at 530 today they are covering our story .[/QUOTE

Check out WPBF.com at 530 today they are covering our story .

very well spoken on all our behalf’s! Thank u! Let’s hope this goes in the right direction

 

[2G1B]

Why did so many pay with a bank check? My kids have done FlipFest quite a bit and we always pay by credit card. My girls have also done OGC and I paid for that with credit card. Did the camp suggest the bank checks?

 

[mrscptcuddles]

There is a reporter investigating and found a lock box on the house of the camp owners. The reporter email is
tparker@hearst.com

She is very helpful in our battle...

I contacted WPTV in the Tequesta area. I'm hoping the coverage will get a resolution quicker.

 

[mrscptcuddles]

Why did so many pay with a bank check? My kids have done FlipFest quite a bit and we always pay by credit card. My girls have also done OGC and I paid for that with credit card. Did the camp suggest the bank checks?

Camp said no credit cards.

 

[2G1B]

Camp said no credit cards.

has that been the case in previous years? If not then that is SUPER suspicious. Even if it has, it would have probably made me question some about how good they are at being a business. I mean, asking for what sounds like $1,000+ from someone for a service in the future (so they are paying before getting ANYTHING from you) and not offering credit card payment is questionable business practice IMO. It leaves the consumer with zero protection from fraud. And I find it hard to sympathize with business owners taking that much money from people and not bothering to do their due diligence (getting permits).