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Kennywood season pass holders sound the alarm on wrongful "missed payment" charges

Kennywood says third-party company the cause of wrongful missed payments
Kennywood says third-party company the cause of wrongful missed payments 03:28

WEST MIFFLIN (KDKA) - Some Kennywood enthusiasts are saying the park is taking them on a wild ride, and it's not of the fun variety, it has everything to do with billing issues. 

Some season pass holders received emails saying they missed a payment and the park would soon debit the money from their accounts. 

"Did you see the Facebook page today? She said everybody is saying how their accounts have been debited, and I was like did anyone call the news, I was like, this is crazy," said Kayla Williams. 

Many of the people who got the email said they were in error and they were paid in full. 

Kennywood is a park with a long history of good, family fun but some families have now reached out to KDKA-TV saying that something that isn't fun: is seeing money disappear out of your bank account right after the holidays. 

So, what exactly is going on? 

While we're in the midst of gray skies and cold temperatures, many are thinking about Kennywood after they were flagged for alleged missed payments. 

"I said I did not miss a payment," Williams explained. "They're like, well, we see that you missed a payment." 

Williams then told us that Kennywood said they would kick the problem up to someone else only to get another email demanding proof. 

Williams, a mother of four, said Kennywood charged her $100 for the alleged missed payment and had to work to get a refund. She said the park asked for her bank statements, proof of her past payments, and then proof the park took $100 out of her account. 

Once she proved all of that, she got her refund. 

"It's just like, where's the customer service?" She asked. "[Something like] 'I'm so sorry that our system made this [error]." 

We reached out to Kennywood and learned that they're using a third-party company that recently conducted an audit, and while some people do owe money due to missed payments, the system also tried to recoup money from people in cases where the pass holder did pay in full, but to the system, it looked like the person still owed money. 

Kennywood's Communication Director Lynsey Winters provided KDKA-TV with a statement. 

"The park is currently processing payment for guests with outstanding balances on their current and former season pass installment plans. If a pass holder believes they were charged in error, we ask they contact us directly at (412) 206-4182."

"That's a big chunk of the grocery bucks or for a week, and that's more than a slight inconvenience, that could be a massive hardship," said Dustin Vallus. 

Vallus said the park tried to debit his card for an alleged missed payment from two years ago, but his card expired so it didn't go through. He fears the problem is widespread and questions the third-party company. 

"If you're counting on this to be fiscally responsible for the money you're bringing in, what kind of reporting do you have?" He asked. "Shouldn't there be an error in reporting somewhere in the system telling you? For some reason, it should throw a flag somewhere." 

We also found some people who hadn't purchased season passes since 2022 getting charged, and while some people did miss a payment in July they settled the debt in August but the system still considered them as someone who missed a payment. 

It's the offseason with only a few people working in the office right now, so they're asking for people to call and they'll work through the calls one by one. 

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