motoronin
Dear Bikers and Track day enthusiasts,
I thought I should warn you all about my recent experience with Focused Events and I hope it will give you pause for thought when booking a Track day or foreign Track Event with them.
A number of mates on a forum are going to Almeria in mid to late September, I belatedly decided that I had just enough money to join them for four fantastic days of dry track, something we’ve all been missing this so called British summer. I phoned Focused Events and they were more than happy to take my money and I was really looking forward to it, drooling over pictures of the track and watching other people’s You tube vids to get an idea of the circuit, or to make sure you can maybe acquire a slight edge over your mates, as you do..
Unfortunately for me, just before the inevitable thunderstorm in the Cadwell Park micro-bloody climate, I crashed. Tipping in to Coppice, a false neutral, a touch of the brakes and wham! No, not a George Michael, stoned, sleepy foray, on a poor, defenceless corner shop. No, a whopping 120mph, tank slapping, over the bars, surfing the bike on my arse (according to the witness right behind me), rolling, screeching and terrifying crash that fortunately only left me with torn leathers, a dinged helmet and some torn tendons in my throttle hand. Enough about me though, the bike faired surprisingly well for such a tumble and when I say well, it’s still going to cost me a small fortune to put right, we all know that sinking feeling of necessary, functional bits and bling replacement.
So the next day, realisation dawned on me that not only was I injured but that there was no way I was going to be able to afford to get my bike back together and go to Almeria, it’s just not possible. I rang Focused Events and informed them of my decision, telling them I’d had the crash and that I couldn’t afford it now and that I was injured. Their response was “We’ll check you crashed, ”I said ”go ahead.” I was told that they needed to discuss it with a manager and they’ll get back to me. I asked why a manager was necessary when it clearly states in their terms and conditions that I’m entitled to a refund up to ten days in advance of the event. Six phone calls and an email still haven’t managed to find this vital yet elusive manager, where is he and what’s he doing?
He, or she, is like the ‘Higgs Boson’, they know it’s there, they know they’ll find it, there’s just no evidence that it exists yet, even thought they think they’ve found it, it hasn’t presented itself to me. This is unforgiveable, this is ‘the run around’ and in the finest words of The Dude, ”this will not stand man….”
I wonder what they’ll think when I speak to Trading standards, I wonder whether they realise the power of the internet, its many forums and magazines, I wonder if they know that I will not stop until I get my refund and most of all I wonder if they realise how many £455s they will lose because of this one refusal for refund. People talk, I wonder if they’ve thought about that too?
I thought I should warn you all about my recent experience with Focused Events and I hope it will give you pause for thought when booking a Track day or foreign Track Event with them.
A number of mates on a forum are going to Almeria in mid to late September, I belatedly decided that I had just enough money to join them for four fantastic days of dry track, something we’ve all been missing this so called British summer. I phoned Focused Events and they were more than happy to take my money and I was really looking forward to it, drooling over pictures of the track and watching other people’s You tube vids to get an idea of the circuit, or to make sure you can maybe acquire a slight edge over your mates, as you do..
Unfortunately for me, just before the inevitable thunderstorm in the Cadwell Park micro-bloody climate, I crashed. Tipping in to Coppice, a false neutral, a touch of the brakes and wham! No, not a George Michael, stoned, sleepy foray, on a poor, defenceless corner shop. No, a whopping 120mph, tank slapping, over the bars, surfing the bike on my arse (according to the witness right behind me), rolling, screeching and terrifying crash that fortunately only left me with torn leathers, a dinged helmet and some torn tendons in my throttle hand. Enough about me though, the bike faired surprisingly well for such a tumble and when I say well, it’s still going to cost me a small fortune to put right, we all know that sinking feeling of necessary, functional bits and bling replacement.
So the next day, realisation dawned on me that not only was I injured but that there was no way I was going to be able to afford to get my bike back together and go to Almeria, it’s just not possible. I rang Focused Events and informed them of my decision, telling them I’d had the crash and that I couldn’t afford it now and that I was injured. Their response was “We’ll check you crashed, ”I said ”go ahead.” I was told that they needed to discuss it with a manager and they’ll get back to me. I asked why a manager was necessary when it clearly states in their terms and conditions that I’m entitled to a refund up to ten days in advance of the event. Six phone calls and an email still haven’t managed to find this vital yet elusive manager, where is he and what’s he doing?
He, or she, is like the ‘Higgs Boson’, they know it’s there, they know they’ll find it, there’s just no evidence that it exists yet, even thought they think they’ve found it, it hasn’t presented itself to me. This is unforgiveable, this is ‘the run around’ and in the finest words of The Dude, ”this will not stand man….”
I wonder what they’ll think when I speak to Trading standards, I wonder whether they realise the power of the internet, its many forums and magazines, I wonder if they know that I will not stop until I get my refund and most of all I wonder if they realise how many £455s they will lose because of this one refusal for refund. People talk, I wonder if they’ve thought about that too?