Call Kurtis: I Thought I Canceled My Campground Contract

Chuck Gruenberg signed up for a campground membership in the 1980s, but has no use for it now. He thought his daughter canceled, and then two years later ended up in collections.

Chuck says his membership was worth it when his family used to have an RV.

"It was a lot of fun while it lasted," he says.

Flipping through photo books, he and his daughter Cecilia Beard look back at years of memories touring the country in an RV.

Chuck and his wife Lillie paid $5,295 up front for a membership contract with Thousand Trails, a company that operates campgrounds. Chuck then paid $160 in yearly dues. And over the years, they went up to $330. For that, he could use any of the campgrounds operated by Thousand Trails.

But about 10 years ago Chuck got rid of his RV, Lillie passed away in 2006, and now he's battling Parkinson's in an assisted living facility.

"I had my time. I paid and supported; now I'm done. I can't use it anymore," says Chuck.

Cecilia says she faxed documents to Thousand Trails, canceling the membership in 2009. Then last month, she received a collections notice, asking Chuck to pay $1,060.34 in overdue fees.

We didn't see anything in the contract about the consumer being able to cancel, but it does mention transferring the membership to someone else and that membership rights shall terminate "upon the death of the third owner."

"It doesn't appear that you can cancel it," says Cecilia, "I mean, basically, you have to die."

"I haven't seen a contract where it's open-ended and potentially for the rest of your life," says McGeorge School of Law Professor Brian Slocum.

Slocum says these types of contracts are rare, but legal. After 30 years of membership, he thinks Chuck has a pretty good argument to cancel.

"There's no where in the contract that it states that this is a lifetime commitment," says Slocum.

We called Thousand Trails, who told us they never received Cecilia's cancellation notice in 2009. But they agreed to throw out that collection notice.

Cecilia is happy things worked out but worries about others who feel obligated to keep paying.

"I think it's a terrible matter of taking advantage of people, and now particularly our seniors," says Cecilia.

If you're having trouble getting out of a contract that has no end date, the California Attorney General's office says you can file a complaint with them.