Bryan Chapman Memorial 2017

[Carpe Diem]

Cancel that!

I have just received a 522 word email rant from the events admin informing me that I cannot offer my place to anyone and i will lose my entrance fee.

It was also pointed out by her that despite knowing that i suffered from Gout I still entered anyway 

Unfortunately I can't yet predict when these attacks might strike and I had been free of an attack for several months when I applied last year.

So sorry, my place is now no longer available for anyone else to make use of.

[jsabine]

I'm sorry to hear of your gout - I know others who find it extremely debilitating and, as you say, unpredictable.

It's a shame you feel you've received a 'rant' from the organiser, but it's long-standing practice that entry fees to AUK events are not refundable, and nor are entries transferable - that's part of the bargain, including volunteer organisers and general low cost, and it is made clear on the entry forms. There's also an explanatory page on the website - http://www.aukweb.net/events/feespolicy/

[Ian H]

Someone might still be grateful for the room if you can't get a refund.

[Carpe Diem]

Yeah thats fine.

I didn't realise it was such a big deal.

I just thought that if I couldn't ride it then someone who missed out on a place could.

The entry fee is neither here nor there to be honest.

[Carpe Diem]

I think i can get a refund on the room, i paid extra to allow me to cancel up to the day of occupancy.

But once again I just thought someone might want it that missed out on a room.

[jsabine]

If you're happy to pass on the room to someone else, that's great - and here's almost certainly as good a place to do it as any. That doesn't involve the org in any way at all - it's purely a private arrangement.

If you let the organiser know that you're not going to make it, and they're running a waiting list, they may be able to pass the place on to someone else - but that's entirely at their discretion.

As for the fees, there have been a (very) few occasions when withdrawing riders have got shirty, either with the organiser or publicly. It's never been terribly edifying.

[Bianchi Boy]

TBH - the fee not been returnable is really for three reasons -

1. The organiser has some sunk costs and one rider does not change the outlay. They need the money to run the event.
2. The organiser has enough to do and is running this in their free time and do not need extra admin.
3. To stop a load of people asking for a refund if two days before the weather forecast is really crap and there are mass drop outs.

Of these it is option 2 that applies here. Running an event like the BCM is a big job and they do not want to encourage people to apply and then back out later. The rule is there for good reasons and it is a risk we all take when applying for popular events. I have had to bunk some events because other commitments have come up before events.

BB

[Ian H]

Having once been on the volunteer side of this event, I can vouch for the scale of the task of organisation.

[Carpe Diem]

Just to clear up a point here before everyone goes on and on about refunding entry fees.

I never asked for a refund, i asked if someone else could take my place as i knew the event was oversubscribed and people missed out on a place.

[Ian H]

Fair point,  but it would be better to let the organisers know, so they can arrange things as they see fit. 

Considerations: There might be a waiting list with priority; or the organiser might have factored in a percentage of DNSes. 

I appreciate that you intended to helpful and thanks for that, but the reality is that it complicates matters.

[mattc]

I appreciate that you intended to helpful and thanks for that, but the reality is that people will still bang on about asking for refunds.

FTFY

[Ian H]

Matt—in this case they didn't.

[Carpe Diem]

I did email the organiser first and asked if there was a reserve list of people waiting for a place.

I was told that they do not operate a waiting list and the ride was oversubscribed.

It was not pointed out to me at that point that i couldn't offer my place to another rider.

So i didnt see any harm in posting it on here to see if anyone wanted my place.

I certainly won't be doing that again!

[mattc]

Matt—in this case they didn't.

Hrumph.

[jiberjaber]

Well my entry arrived back home today, post marked 21st December but apparently not enough postage so the "please collect and pay £1.50" probably (understandably) got lost in the organiser's mail bag.

The funny thing is, RM obvs didn't deliver it because they felt more postage was owed (it was 25p short from the looks of it) and then decided to return it to me in Essex, so it's probably cost them more to return it than it would have done to deliver it in the first place! 

[Ian H]

Some while ago I got involved in a project relating to postal services.  I was told that individual sorting offices were allowed to choose their sorting machinery and, as a result, different offices assessed size and weight of items differently, particularly with regard to thickness.  Some squeeze air out of an envelope in gauging thickness, and some don't.  So something on the limit of 5mm or 20mm might or might not get through.  If it's critical, err on the generous side.

[catswiskas]

I don't want to make a big thing of this, but to make it clear,  Rob's comments below are slightly misleading, so where he's saying:

[/b][/b]
I did email the organiser first and asked if there was a reserve list of people waiting for a place.

I was told that they do not operate a waiting list and the ride was oversubscribed.

It was not pointed out to me at that point that i couldn't offer my place to another rider.

So i didnt see any harm in posting it on here to see if anyone wanted my place.

I certainly won't be doing that again!

my first response to him was:

"Thank you for letting us know. We are sorry that you won’t be able to ride the event.  If this is because of health / fitness issues, then if you were able to help out at a control then we can offer you a place on the event next year (2018).  If you would, then please let us know asap.

We do not operate a waiting list for the BCM 600 – we are currently over-subscribed, so your place will not be reallocated.

However, as there is pressure to find accommodation close to the event, I am sure that you will find an eager taker for your room.

[/color]

Not quite sure how I could  have made this clearer to you. You  were offered the opportunity to transfer your place - perhaps i should have made it clear that there wouldn't have been a charge for your 2018 entry .

Read AUK Policy on Entries
 
"Whilst it is recognised that there are occasionally circumstances which prevent a rider taking the start of an audax event, Audax UK policy has always been that entry fees are NOT REFUNDABLE and NOT TRANSFERABLE."


It would be chaos with people swapping places behind the scenes. 

[Carpe Diem]

How are my comments misleading?

I have repeated what you said in your email!

There is no waiting list as I stated and the event is over subscribed..as I stated!

Where does it say I cant offer my place to another rider personally??

What has next years event got to do with this years?

Did I say I wanted to enter next years event? No!

And if i did , my understanding was it would only be offered if I volunteered to help.

But whilst you're re-posting emails...why don't you re-post the polite (not) response I received back?

Good grief, all I did was ask if anyone wanted my place as I couldn't ride and all this song and dance is made...have you got nothing better to do with your time?

Because the email you sent me stated you were far too busy change riders around yet you can spend all day batting emails back and forth and replying to forum post 

[jsabine]

I think offering to carry forward the entry to next year, subject to being able to help out, is a great idea - it feels fair, and helps the sustainability of the event.

The phrasing quoted currently reads more like a guaranteed place though, and parallels with other sorts of events that allow transfers (Ride London and the London Marathon, for a start) probably mean that if I read it, I'd expect to pay for next year as well as losing this year's fee. Nothing that a couple of extra words wouldn't sort, of course ...

As for not transferring entries to others, that's a general AUK rule and applies to every event. As I said up there somewhere^^^, it's on the entry form, and made more explicit on the page I linked to and catswiskas has quoted.

If you feel this isn't clear enough, AUK can certainly look again at the wording.

[Hot Flatus]

How are my comments misleading?

I have repeated what you said in your email!

There is no waiting list as I stated and the event is over subscribed..as I stated!

Where does it say I cant offer my place to another rider personally??

What has next years event got to do with this years?

Did I say I wanted to enter next years event? No!

And if i did , my understanding was it would only be offered if I volunteered to help.

But whilst you're re-posting emails...why don't you re-post the polite (not) response I received back?

Good grief, all I did was ask if anyone wanted my place as I couldn't ride and all this song and dance is made...have you got nothing better to do with your time?

Because the email you sent me stated you were far too busy change riders around yet you can spend all day batting emails back and forth and replying to forum post 

I think what you have to bear in mind, Carpe Diem, is that audax runs on volunteerism, and as a 'customer' you have to take the rough with the smooth to some extent. It's part of the deal. Nobody is going to be too tolerant for stuff which is too far outside of the envelope and you haven't really got any right to expect too much from the 'customer service' department.

At the end of the day, catswiskas has right on his/her side, and whilst you might think it was one teeny little request on your part, it might be just one of many, along with a whole load of bullshit that they end up dealing with because some people really are quite extraordinary.

You weren't to know, but now you do, so it's probably time to just let it go.

[Carpe Diem]

I couldn't agree more.

[Hot Flatus]

I hope the gout gets better too   

[Bianchi Boy]

I hope the gout gets better too   

I suffered with gout for a while. Drank less beer and stopped eating liver, kidneys, pork scratchings and sea food like oysters and shrimps. I was luck and it went away only to return on e in the last 19 years.

I do miss the food I cannot eat and once in a while have a small dip into the world of gout food. I did love that stuff.

Hope it gets better. It gave me the worst pain I have ever experienced.

BB

[Carpe Diem]

Thank you to both of you.

Yes it is very painful and debilitating when it strikes.

My doctor said it was a tendon problem for over a year and kept treating me with cortisone injections, but now after blood tests she has prescribed me Allopurinol, I have to take this for life now and it can take up to 2 years before it is 100% effective.

[Bianchi Boy]

Thank you to both of you.

Yes it is very painful and debilitating when it strikes.

My doctor said it was a tendon problem for over a year and kept treating me with cortisone injections, but now after blood tests she has prescribed me Allopurinol, I have to take this for life now and it can take up to 2 years before it is 100% effective.

I tried that drug stuff and gave it up for reducing the gout stuff in my diet, guess I was lucky. Have you tried reducing purine foods?

Steve

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk