Recovered
The full $5,550 charter bus fare posted back to the booster account as two credits ($4,995 and $555).
Spring Trip 2026
Recovery Updates
This page is a family-facing summary of the recovery work after the May 15 spring trip cancellation. It will focus on confirmed information, major next steps, and what families should expect.
Last updated: Monday, June 15, 2026
Current Status
The recovery is complete on the vendor side. The full $5,550 bus fare is back. Wyndham refunded $1,019.52, and CharterUP approved a $1,784.16 courtesy refund that covers the rest of the hotel cost. Music in the Parks refunded $5,611 by check.
The last piece is now in. The CharterUP courtesy refund check arrived and was deposited on June 15, so every outside-vendor cost the trip could recover is back in the account. The trip account is being reconciled and family refunds are opening now.
The only cost the trip could not recover is $820.77: the $720.77 in trip t-shirts the students keep, and the $100 festival deposit. Every major vendor cost has been returned.
Family Refunds
Here is the plan. Each family gets back what they paid, minus a flat $20. The $20 covers the trip t-shirt your student keeps. A family that paid the full $300 will receive $280 back. If the $20 is a hardship for your family, we will return the full amount, no questions asked.
The form is open. Each family will choose one of three options: apply the refund to the 2026 marching band season, take the refund back by check (pick it up at the school or have it mailed), or donate it to the boosters. Every family will get an email from me with the link.
The money is back in the account, so this is the part where it comes to you. Watch for an email from me with your link to the refund form and a full update on where things landed. Thank you for your patience while we closed this out the right way.
What We Are Trying to Recover
To be honest with families about the financial reality, here is the breakdown of what was paid for the trip and where each piece stands right now:
- Bus charter (CharterUP): $5,550 — fully refunded and posted to the account.
- Music in the Parks festival registration (Festival’s Edge): $5,711 — $5,611 refund by check, received; $100 deposit retained.
- Hotel (Wyndham Garden Williamsburg): $2,803.68 — $1,019.52 refunded by the hotel and posted; the remaining $1,784.16 covered by CharterUP’s courtesy refund, received and deposited June 15.
- Trip t-shirts (Printify): $720.77 — physical product, already produced and delivered; the students keep them.
Every refund is now in hand. The Music in the Parks check and the CharterUP courtesy refund have both been received, and the CharterUP check was deposited on June 15.
The only cost the trip could not recover is $820.77: the $720.77 in trip shirts the students keep and the $100 retained festival deposit. Every other dollar has been returned.
Every family will get an email from me with the link to the refund form and a full update on where things landed.
Whole
Wyndham refunded $1,019.52 for eight rooms, which has posted. CharterUP then approved a $1,784.16 courtesy refund covering the rest of the hotel cost. That check was received and deposited on June 15. The hotel side is fully whole.
Recovered
Music in the Parks refunded $5,611 by check, and the check has been received. The $100 deposit is being retained.
Opening now
Each family gets back what they paid minus a flat $20 for the trip t-shirt they keep. Families who need the full amount will receive it. The selection form is open, and every family will get an email with their link so they can choose how to handle their refund.
On file
Chaperones, families, and students shared what they observed on May 15 and how the cancellation affected them. That material is preserved and was referenced in the vendor correspondence.
What has happened
Timeline
Automated "bus is on the way" message received
CharterUP's automated system sent a "your vehicle is on the way" message 11 minutes before the scheduled 3:00 PM pickup. The same message hit the booster officer's phone and is preserved on her Verizon log.
Scheduled pickup. Bus did not arrive.
Students and chaperones waited outside the band room for approximately 30 to 40 minutes for the bus that had been confirmed and was reportedly already on the way.
First call to the assigned driver
The booster officer placed the first call to the driver assigned to our reservation. The phone rang and went to a voicemail that was not set up. (Verizon billing record.)
Cancellation call received
Inbound call from CharterUP support to the booster officer. The bus broker informed her that the trip was cancelled. This is the documented cancellation moment, anchored to a Verizon billing record and her contemporaneous note on the log.
Joint callback to CharterUP
Mr. Parker and the booster officer called CharterUP back together for a 9-minute conversation to confirm the cancellation and ask whether a replacement bus could be obtained.
Announcement to students inside the band room
Once the cancellation was confirmed, students were brought inside and told the bus had cancelled last-minute. Adults continued working the phones in pursuit of a replacement.
Replacement-bus search
Calls placed to four charter operators (Sunway in Jacksonville, Daniels in Wilmington, Carolina Limo in Myrtle Beach, and a second Jacksonville operator). None could deploy a bus inside our window. (Carrier billing record.)
Final cancellation communicated
Students were told the trip could no longer go forward and were released to families.
Initial family update sent
Families were notified that the trip was cancelled and that follow-up would continue once the transportation vendor provided written documentation.
Substantive call with CharterUP case manager
39-minute call with the CharterUP case manager who took over our case. Bus refund of $5,550 verbally committed; an internal exception request opened for non-bus costs. CharterUP holds the recording. (Carrier billing record.)
CharterUP written confirmation received
CharterUP confirmed in writing that the bus provider was no longer able to service the trip and that alternate provider options within their marketplace had been exhausted.
Hotel refund request sent
Refund / exception request sent to the hotel general manager and group sales contact, with CharterUP's written cancellation confirmation forwarded as documentation.
Festival refund request sent
Refund / exception request sent to the Music in the Parks / Festival's Edge primary contact, with CharterUP's written cancellation confirmation forwarded. Auto-reply received: primary contact is out of office until Monday, May 18 at 8:00 AM.
Formal CharterUP follow-up sent
A written follow-up was sent to CharterUP requesting documentation and clarification about the transportation failure. CharterUP acknowledged the request at 10:59 PM and assigned an internal ticket.
Chaperone documentation request sent
Trip chaperones were asked to share what they observed on May 15, any phone records related to the cancellation, and confirmation of trip-related transactions on the booster account. The goal is one clean record of how the day unfolded.
Family impact form sent
Families were invited to share what their student observed and what the family had to give up or change because of trip costs that are now in limbo. Responses are voluntary and are being kept on file alongside the vendor record.
Chaperone witness statement received
A written witness statement was received from one of the chaperones who was present in the band room from 2:30 PM on Friday. It corroborates the timeline already on record from on-site observation.
Booster phone log and CharterUP correspondence received
A booster officer forwarded her full Verizon Call and Text Log for May 15 and the complete email chain with the bus broker, from initial quote through cancellation. The Verizon log lines up minute-by-minute with the timeline already on record and includes the 3:31 PM incoming call from the broker that informed her the trip was cancelled. That moment is now anchored to a carrier billing record, not a recollection.
Booster bank statement confirms refund initiated
The booster bank statement confirmed that the $5,550 charter bus refund was initiated by the broker on Saturday, May 16. It posted as two pending credits ($4,995 and $555, mirroring the original two-payment booking) and is scheduled to clear on Monday, May 18.
Second chaperone witness statement received
A second chaperone who was present at the school on Friday submitted a written account of what she observed from approximately 2:15 PM through the cancellation. It corroborates the timeline already on record from an independent on-site vantage point.
Student photos and video received
In response to a request in the student group chat, several students sent photos and video from the school on May 15 between 3:00 and 5:30 PM. Two of the photos carry intact timestamp metadata from the cancellation window and are real-time records of students waiting at the school.
Monday vendor call plan prepared
A point-by-point plan for the Monday conversations with the hotel general manager, the festival owner, and the bus broker has been prepared. The file is in shape for tomorrow.
Music in the Parks refund approved
Music in the Parks / Festival's Edge approved a refund of $5,611. The $100 deposit is being retained, and the remaining balance is expected by check to the booster organization.
Festival cancellation confirmed
A cancellation confirmation was received from Music in the Parks, matching the refund conversation and documenting that the trip registration has been cancelled.
Hotel partial refund approved
Wyndham approved a partial refund of $1,019.52, covering eight rooms: seven rooms the hotel was able to resell, plus the one-room credit previously approved before the trip.
CharterUP outside-loss review remains active
CharterUP confirmed the outside-loss review is still active. Their case manager folded the related support ticket into the main case and said they expect to respond before the end of the week.
Hotel partial refund posted
The $1,019.52 Wyndham partial refund posted to the booster account. That is the first outside-vendor recovery to actually reach the account.
CharterUP approved the remaining hotel loss
CharterUP completed its outside-loss review and approved an additional $1,784.16 courtesy refund, beyond the bus fare, as an exception to their standard terms. That amount matches the hotel cost the trip could not recover. With it, the hotel side of the loss is now whole. The refund was initially set to go back to the card on file.
Music in the Parks refund check received
The $5,611 Music in the Parks refund arrived by check to the booster organization. That closes the festival side of the recovery. Only the $100 deposit was retained.
CharterUP courtesy refund set to come by check
CharterUP confirmed it would issue the $1,784.16 courtesy refund by check rather than back to the card, and that it had the booster organization's information to cut and mail it.
CharterUP courtesy refund check received
The $1,784.16 CharterUP courtesy refund check arrived. With it, every outside-vendor cost the trip could recover is now back in hand. That was the last piece we were waiting on.
Check deposited — family refunds opening
The CharterUP check was deposited. The trip account is being reconciled and the family refund selection form is opening now. Every family will get an email from Mr. Parker with their link and a full update.
Next steps
What I am working on now
- Email every family the link to the refund selection form.
- Finish reconciling the trip account now that the CharterUP check is deposited.
- Process each family's choice as it comes in: a refund check, a credit toward the 2026 marching band season, or a donation to the boosters.
- Get refund checks out to the families who choose that option.
Filing Your Own Complaint
The Ashley Band Boosters is filing a consumer-protection complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General’s office, because what happened to our trip is part of a pattern that affects other families and groups, not just ours. If you would like to file your own complaint, you are welcome to. It is completely optional, and your refund does not depend on it.
A complaint in your own words carries more weight than a copied one. You can file with any or all of these, and all are free:
- NC Attorney General (Consumer Protection): ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint, or call 1-877-5-NO-SCAM (in NC) or 919-716-6000.
- Better Business Bureau: CharterUP’s BBB profile (Atlanta, GA), then use “File a Complaint.”
- FMCSA (the federal agency that licenses bus brokers): National Consumer Complaint Database, or call 1-888-368-7238.
Keep it to your own experience: who you are (a parent of a student signed up for the May 15 trip), what happened (the booked bus never arrived and CharterUP cancelled with no replacement), the company (CharterUP, Inc., Atlanta GA), the date, and what the cancellation cost your family. You do not need to include anyone else’s information.
If you would like a document from our records to attach, such as CharterUP’s written cancellation notice, email Mr. Parker and let him know which complaint you are filing. He will share what fits.
A Note on Family Responses
Thank you to the families who have already written in. Many of you have offered help, asked good questions, and shared ideas. The recovery work is further along than it may appear from the outside, and several of the suggestions families have raised are already in motion. The best thing families can do right now is share their experience through the family impact form if they have not already, and otherwise hold the questions until the next update.
Transparency Boundary
This page will not include student information, private contact information, raw phone records, or the specific contents of correspondence with vendors. Those records are being preserved separately. Keeping the strategic side of the recovery work private is what allows it to land cleanly with the vendors involved. The goal here is to give families a clear view of the major recovery steps without overwhelming everyone with raw files or compromising the case.