Hinton skydiving voucher expiry

[aitch_js 0]

Before I start, this isn't intended to discredit anyone in particular, I'm simply asking for other peoples opinions and experiences.
I bought 2 vouchers for tandem jumps for myself and my nephew for his birthday in December, thinking we'd do the jumps in the summer.
I've just tried to book the jump for tomorrow and was told that the voucher expired 6 days ago and is now worthless.
I realise I have no legal right as the voucher clearly states it is valid for 6 months only. Is this normal practice for skydiving operators or have I just picked someone who is inflexible and unwilling to honour a £340 voucher 6 days after it's expiry ?
Thanks in advance for any advice / opinions.
H

[dbattman 0]

It varies from place to place. Bear in mind that you may have just gotten the a part-timer working the manifest to pay for jumps. It might be worth another try and asking them to check with the DZO to see if you can work something out.

[monkycndo 0]

Sometimes the expiration date is to protect the owner due to increased costs that might raise the price of the tandem. If prices have gone up since you purchased the voucher, you might be able to pay the difference and get your jumps. Good luck.

[aitch_js 0]

Yeah, that's what I figured. I did ask if that was the reason and he said it wasn't. The website is still offering jumps at the same rate I paid. I asked if a refund less a reasonable deposit (#100) was possible or perhaps to pay an additional fee to continue with the jump but he insisted the voucher is now worthless. I also asked if the membership to the British Parachute assoc. would still be valid (it's included as part of the voucher for insurance purposes I think) in case I booked to jump with someone else but he said that as I hadn't jumped within 6 months that isn't valid either. In reply to the first post I made a point of speaking to the guy who runs things (Geoff Wood) instead of someone who just takes bookings.

[skymama 35]

To me, he's just being an ass especially since the price is still the same on the jumps. It's not like you waited 2 years or anything, it's only 6 days overdue! It seems to me that it would be in his best interest to honor the certificates. If he did, you would have a great time on your jumps, maybe sign up for AFF or you'll tell your friends how great the dropzone is and maybe they'll sign up for tandems. Instead, now you have a bad taste in your mouth for this dropzone and I'm sure you'll let your friends know which would make him not get any future income from your contacts. He's shooting himself in the foot and it's bad business practice in my opinion.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

To me, he's just being an ass especially since the price is still the same on the jumps.

That looks suspiciously like a PA.

Hey, it's his business and if he want's to annoy customers needlessly then that's his perogative. Of course we only have one side of the story.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I would think it's only a valid PA if said ass is a DZ.com member.I bet you a donut he will not come here to defend himself after ripping someone off like this.Six days,give me a break.I agree with skymama.Instead of a customer that may spend more money now he has someone who will tell everyone how he got screwed.Has Skyride made it across the pond?


.

[skymama 35]

Quote

That looks suspiciously like a PA.

I will withdraw my statement if someone finds that he is a dz.com member. Then, I'll just tell him in a pm.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[diablopilot 2]

No sweat, I'm just being an ass.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[hobie331 0]

I've seen our DZO donate a tandem to a good cause then honor for at least a year. But then I jump at the best DZ in the USA.
Geez, I'm such a suck-up.

It's a gift, I don't try to explain it.

[TrickyDicky 0]

You wont actually have BPA membership till the day you actaully jump (or turn up to jump). Its a paperwork thing you fill in on the day. Its also valid for 12 months after its been issued to you.

But, to be fair, if it does say 6 months on the voucher, it means 6 months. Yes its may be a pain in the arse, and you get pissed off with him for not honoring it, but you knew the rules when you bought the voucher.

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[bch7773 0]

he is completely correct to say 6 months is 6 months, and if you miss it, too bad.

at the same time, him declaring the certificate "worthless" and refusing to work something out with you is bad business practice. short term gain for a long term loss.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[CSpenceFLY 1]

A time limit on something like that is a way for a business owner to keep a check on how many certificates are floating around out there.It should not be used to screw someone out of their money because they showed up 6 days late.Very short sighted on the side of this business owner.Someone should show they this thread and maybe they would think about what they are doing.


.

[turtlespeed 212]

Quote

No sweat, I'm just being an ass.

Can you get banned for PAing your self?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Lets ask the judges?...?????

I think this should now be moved to either the Bonfire or SC so more people can enjoy it.


.

[bigway 4]

Geoff Wood is one of the nicest and fairest DZO's i have met.

For starters for you to say he is an ass i would think would be so unlike you, especially seeing as you only know half the story and that half coming from tandem customer and not someone who is running the dropzone nor being a skydiver.

I don't know the story to this but i bet my bottom dollar that this voucher was bought through a agent and not through the dropzone itself.
If this is the case then it is not the dropzones responsibility to honor a voucher that an agent would not honor once expired.

If it was bought through the dropzone and the voucher is not being honored after it has expired then tough shit. Rules are rules and honstly, if they break it for this person they have to break it for them all. People not paying attention is not the dropzones fault and it should not make them an ass by sticking to their rules.
After the shitty weather this country has had for the past 8 months and hardly any lifts causing cause of weather and cloud for this dropzone to say it is not honored is well in their right.

Theses guys own a dropzone and provide a great service for skydivers and host many good evenings and really look after the sport skydiver and make sure the sporty has a fantastic time. Geoff Wood is also the man who organises the British group for the Kenya Boogie and has for many years. This is by far one of the friendliest and safest dropzones with awesom evenings, free camping that i have ever been to and for SKYMAMA to discredit him like that with only listening to half a story i think is very sad.

If the dropzone took the booking and sold the voucher, then they have every right to say no as the voucher states that and with the shit weather they have had for the last 8 months, then i understand as business is business.

If an agent sold it then i also understand as again business is business.

If i paid £300 odd pounds for anything, the last thing i would ever do is let it go past the expiry date. Are you going to drink milk that is 6 days old?

This person paid for something that has now expired, the only person who is at fault is the idiot that let it expire while at the same time losing out on over £300.
Next time you throw money away like that could you please throw it in my account.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Please read my previous posts.This is bad for the sport in your area.I agree that someone spending the money should be a little more diligent and us the certificate sooner.You making reference to the weather is to me just one more reason to accept the certificates and show these people a good time instead of leaving them with the just got screwed feeling.Oh and in reference to the certificates being bought through an agent,if I were you people I would put a stop to that and do your own marketing.We had the same thing going on here in the US and it turned into a hell of a mess.See you in Rantoul.


.

[bigway 4]

I understand the whole stop the agent thing and do your own marketing as that is what i am into. However, the agents over here are nothing like skyride. The agents here are very good for business in this country and saves on marketing.

However, people here are responding to some person who has put a post up and bad mouthed a dropzone when they have just registered on the day of the post and they seem to know geoff by name and spelt his name correctly. Most people would say 'JEFF' no?
I just think a moderator should not jump on the side of a newly registered poster when their first post is bad mouthing one of the greatest british dropzone owners.
If it is true what has been done, he had every right and does not deserve bad mouthing from other skydivers in our community, expecially not from a moderator of the most popular worldwide skydiving forums.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I will have to continue to disagree.If your going to steal peoples money you should be prepared to be called out in front of your peers.The easy thing and the right thing are not always the same but in this case it would be easy to do the right thing.

Moderators have oppinions too and Skymama said she would retract her statement if she found this person to be part of the DZ.com community.If I were her I would not.


.

[bigway 4]

I understand what you are saying and that is fine. I am not even attempting to argue what you are saying.
My point is someone that only does good for the sport skydiving community of the uk has just been outed on accusations on a skydiving forum and this community is too quick to take this as the truth.

Geoff wood has been part of the skydiving community for many years and i have never heard a bad thing said about him.

A new poster registered today is making him as a person and not just the name of a business look bad. I dont think anybody should listen to this as truth until proven different and i also dont think he should be expected to come on the forums and defend himself.

The man is a very good man. He will back up any jumper and look out for them. He welcomed me to his dropzone when i first arrived in a very friendly way. He trusted me to run his shop and he paid me 2 weeks in advance.
This is a good man and does not need his name put across this HUGE skydiving data base as a person that is not sound.

Nobody expects vouchers to be honoured once the are past their expiry date. An expiry date is an expiry date.
Simple business.
Now this is on public forums and if it was true, if he did honour this i am sure he would then have hundreds of people saying 'you validated theirs and now you have to mine'. Where will it stop if business got into the practise of letting people use things after they expire?

I am not personally and do not want you to. I look forward to meeting you at the WFFC, just having a good debate.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

It's all good.We'll just have to agree to disagree or you can beat the hell out of me.Let me put it this way.If it were my business and someone called me with a certificate that was 6 days expired I would take the reservation in hopes that this person would have a good time and bring more people out to skydive or continue theirselves.I don't think your friend has a snowballs chance in hell of either one of thoses things happening.This is however assuming this scenario is true.If it is not I would think your friend would want to come here to set us straight.


.

[bigway 4]

i would as well but it is not my dropzone.
I would not go as far to call him my friend wither, just a decent person that i respect for what he provides the sport skydivers.

Hinton has alot of tandems but this guy will still let the PAC go up with only 6 sport jumpers on and there he deserves respect.

And an excellent social aspect at this dz.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

All of that being great and all.The owners of Skyride own an Otter that they send up light all of the time but all of the people that have paid for jump they never made help pay for that.Someone can be nice and personable and still screw people.


.

[bigway 4]

Yeah, Business is business. I just dont think we need to slam the good guys here in this forum when there is no proof.

Everyone has a reason for doing what they do.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[skymama 35]

Even though I'm a Mod, I'm still allowed to voice my opinion. Have you not read the posts by Mods in SC before?

Maybe it's just a culture thing that you guys are so hell-bent on keeping to the party line that rules are rules. In my lifetime here in the states, I've had plenty of people extend deadlines or offer discounts to me. It's called good customer service.

I stand by my opinion that 6 days is nothing in the whole scheme of things. If the DZO was truly as nice a guy as you say he is, he should welcome the original poster to his dropzone to do his tandem.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon