Kennywood season pass holder being billed by debt collection agency for fully paid purchase

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — A debt collection agency is going after Kennywood season pass holders. Patrons started receiving notices just a few days ago.

One woman tells Channel 11 she got one of those letters but her tickets were paid in full. 

Jessica Bethune lives just a few minutes away from Kennywood and Sandcastle. She’s been going to both for her entire life. 

In 2023, she bought season passes to both via a payment plan. She tells Channel 11 she made her final payment in July of that year. 

“They were paid in full in 2023,” she said. 

Now, she’s been sent to collections. 

“I was extremely surprised considering I paid for my season pass in full and I was under the assumption I was okay,” she said. 

Jessica says she has proof. 

“I have my transaction history with my bank. It showed I made both of those payments for both of those amounts.” 

Those amounts are, according to the collection notices, $57.50 and $23.33. The letters claim they were due in August of 2023.

Jessica showed Channel 11 screenshots of payments of those same amounts being made to Kennywood and Sandcastle’s then parent company, Palace Entertainment, in July 2023. 

We reached out to Kennywood and were told the following: 

“Collections are handled by a third-party company. Anyone who believes they were charged in error needs to reach out directly to the third-party company.”

Jessica says she’s done that but hasn’t gotten anywhere and hopes the problem can be solved before it affects her credit score. 

“I’m in the process of trying to actually buy a house and have been working to clear my credit,” she said. “It’s just the principle about it. I mean, if you paid for something, you shouldn’t have to pay for it twice.” 

There are steps you can take to dispute the charges. On the letter from Associated Credit Services, there is an option to mail back a portion of it, disputing the charge. 

Disputes can also be filed at payacs.com/contact-us. 

The company can also be reached at 800-962-9898.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group