Nova Scotians left frustrated after province’s camping reservation website goes down

Nova Scotia Provincial Parks has apologized after “technical issues” with their online reservation system prevented people from booking highly coveted campsites in the province on Monday.

“We apologize for any inconvenience. Your patience is greatly appreciated,” the province wrote on its official Facebook page.

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Complaints ranged from receiving an error message, to cancelled bookings and even customers being charged multiple times.

Many angry Nova Scotians responded on the Facebook page, venting their frustration.

“This was a complete nightmare this morning,” one user commented.

Another compared the booking system to the federal government’s Phoenix pay system — a system that has generated much criticism and cost roughly $900 million.

Sharie Brown, a Bedford resident, said she tried to book her camping trip the moment the system opened on Monday, and it took two and half hours between her and her husband to do so. She said she got the reservation to go through after cancelling it and then booking it again.

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Every attempt to speak with someone in customer service on the phone resulted in her only hearing a busy signal, she said.

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“We need a new system. This is not working. This is not the first year we’ve had this problem. It’s time somebody took some accountability for it and fixed it and got a better system,” Brown said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We need a new system. This is not working. This is not the first year we've had this problem. It's time somebody took some accountability for it and fixed it and got a better system," Brown said.

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“I have six confirmed charges on my credit card. And only two confirmed bookings under the ‘my reservations’ section, with two MIA. Not sure where the other bookings disappeared to… and why I have been billed the extra times,” another angry customer wrote.

Although the system has since been fixed, some users are still unsure whether they have actually reserved a camp site for the date they want.

The province says anyone who wants to check the status of their reservation should be able to confirm online or by calling 1-888-544-3434.

Any additional charges should be reversed in one to three business days.