Garfield2010 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Posted December 12, 2011 Well all I can say is that there is a lot promised feedback that is still unaccounted for. See my comment above as an example. As for the refunds still outstanding I can only say I really feel for you guys. I used my refund to enter the EL 70.3. Cant wait!
ChallengeCapeTown Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 Is there anybody else like me still waiting for a refund? I first requested a refund back in October and am still waiting. I have emailed at least 5 times in the intervening period and had no response at all. I have called and spoke with Grant and his colleague and each time it seems I was told a pack of lies......on both occasions I was given some excuse for payment not being made and then they promised the money would be with me in a few days....that was nearly 2 weeks ago. Last week I mailed again, CC'ing the international contact details hoping for some kind of response and nothing. I even visited their office earlier today to find it locked and nobody answering when ringing the bell. I have almost given up hope....seems like Grant is using my money to buy his kids some Christmas gifts. Morning, Yesterday the office was in a meeting with the Mayor and hence the office was closed. Chances to meet with the Mayor over the race are far and few between. With other major events being cancelled/postponed in Cape Town of late, Saracens, Cape Town Bike festival amongst other the City is in a change period and there are changes and procedure which affect when we can go to announcement. Ultimately the City has its processes and we have to work within that. So when the City is ready to make an announcement then that is when that will happen and given the time of the year, the earliest will be mid-Jan 2012. With regards to Marketing Manager title, I simply responded to the email from our Marketing Managers email address as she was off sick. With regards to taking money and buying Christmas gifts. Apart from not having children, am afraid, my nearest and dearest won't be getting any gifts and personally not stepped foot inside shopping store for clothes or the like in the last 12 months. For those who actually have been working with us as partner/sponsor or in the office know where things really are at. We have sent an email last week to the athletes giving an open and honest update. If that is misconstrued as lies then there is not much more we can comment on. The capital investments for the race were already made and clearly having to re-gear the business going forward takes time. It is neither a straightforward process or quick. So there is little point in committing to refunds if we not working to that end.
TexasRanger Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) Morning, Yesterday the office was in a meeting with the Mayor and hence the office was closed. Chances to meet with the Mayor over the race are far and few between. With other major events being cancelled/postponed in Cape Town of late, Saracens, Cape Town Bike festival amongst other the City is in a change period and there are changes and procedure which affect when we can go to announcement. Ultimately the City has its processes and we have to work within that. So when the City is ready to make an announcement then that is when that will happen and given the time of the year, the earliest will be mid-Jan 2012. With regards to Marketing Manager title, I simply responded to the email from our Marketing Managers email address as she was off sick. With regards to taking money and buying Christmas gifts. Apart from not having children, am afraid, my nearest and dearest won't be getting any gifts and personally not stepped foot inside shopping store for clothes or the like in the last 12 months. For those who actually have been working with us as partner/sponsor or in the office know where things really are at. We have sent an email last week to the athletes giving an open and honest update. If that is misconstrued as lies then there is not much more we can comment on. The capital investments for the race were already made and clearly having to re-gear the business going forward takes time. It is neither a straightforward process or quick. So there is little point in committing to refunds if we not working to that end. Grant, Clearly you have not read my message properly I did get your email last week. I did not say that what was in the email was a lie. What I did say above was that I have emailed you on at least 5 occasions and have not yet had the courtesy of one response....apart from the generic email that you sent out. I also said that I have spoken with you or your colleague on the phone at least twice and on BOTH occasions I was told that my money would be refunded within a few days. That was you were lied to me. I do not appreciate that and I am certain that I would have been far more tolerant of your situation if you had explained then over the phone that you were experiencing problems in making payments, which clearly you are. Maybe you wish to comment on that? I have also only posted this here on this forum to vent my frustration as it appears this is the only time you bother to respond to anybody. Edited December 13, 2011 by TexasRanger
Slowbee Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 Grant, Clearly you have not read my message properly. I did get your email last week. I did not say that what was in the email was a lie. What I did say above was that I have emailed you on at least 5 occasions and have not yet had the courtesy of one response....apart from the generic email that you sent out. I also said that I have spoken with you or your colleague on the phone at least twice and on BOTH occasions I was told that my money would be refunded within a few days. That was you were lied to me. I do not appreciate that and I am certain that I would have been far more tolerant of your situation if you had explained then over the phone that you were experiencing problems in making payments, which clearly you are. Maybe you wish to comment on that? As an outside observer, if you are going to make accusations, being sure of the facts is important.
TexasRanger Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 As an outside observer, if you are going to make accusations, being sure of the facts is important. Semantics really. I have spoken with both Grant and his colleague.
Slowbee Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 Semantics really. I have spoken with both Grant and his colleague.
Warrior Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Dear Cape Town athlete It is with great disappointment that we announce Challenge Family is withdrawing from Cape Town and there will be no Challenge Cape Town in 2012. This was a very difficult decision to make but unfortunately we no longer have the confidence we can secure a long term route that meets Challenge standards. Despite extensive work with the City of Cape Town and the local organisers, we can not guarantee the issues that caused the cancellation of the 2011 event will be resolved by 2012, namely the full closure of the bike course which had initially been agreed upon and was later revoked by the city authorities. In addition, differences with the local organisers have meant the contract held by Grant Kunneke to run Challenge Cape Town has now been cancelled. For those athletes who are still waiting for their refund, we have asked the local Cape Town organisers several times to pay all refunds. With the severance of the contract comes a legal obligation for the Cape Town organisers to refund all remaining athletes before 28 February 2012. Another option for non-refunded athletes is to instead take up the offer of a start spot at the world's largest iron distance triathlon, Challenge Roth. This event sells out within a matter of hours and we can offer you a secured place for 2013. Please contact the Challenge Roth office before 28 February 2012 on info@challenge-roth.de to secure your place. Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience the cancellation of Challenge Cape Town has caused and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Yours in sport Felix Felix WalchshöferGeschäftsführer / CEO TEAMCHALLENGE GmbHWestring 4091154 RothGermany
gummibear Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 We all saw this coming but did you get your refund?
TexasRanger Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Thankfully, I did eventually get my refund in early January. I have a friend who has still not received his though.
onetrackmind Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Despite extensive work with the City of Cape Town and the local organisers, we can not guarantee the issues that caused the cancellation of the 2011 event will be resolved by 2012, namely the full closure of the bike course which had initially been agreed upon and was later revoked by the city authorities. More lies. If the people in council who actually make these decision had been approached, they would have laughed, a lot, at the proposed route, composed themselves a little, and then said no. I suspect a street sweeper, representing the City in his Solid Waste uniform, was approached, said "Lekker, my larnie" and they took it from there.
Warrior Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Still waiting for a refund. Feel for you, guess i was one of the lucky ones when i got my refund on 6 Dec 2011. Seems like 'the local organisers' might be in for a few letters of demand the next few weeks...
Shebeen Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Dear Cape Town athlete It is with great disappointment that we announce Challenge Family is withdrawing from Cape Town and there will be no Challenge Cape Town in 2012. Gee, didn't see that one coming. Without knowing the background, I would guess that this whole event was going to run on the Cape Epic business model. announce an event, and make it sound awesomesecure entries, which will cover a lot of the costs up to race daynegotiate a line of credit with service providerssell out race 2 immediately after race 1, and use this money to pay off your debtsrepeat process until you have a bankable product, and can strongarm some real sponsorship.unfortunately not everyone is a Kevin Vermaak. I can't believe anyone actually believed in the route being viable.
Garfield2010 Posted February 7, 2012 Author Posted February 7, 2012 Daar het julle dit nou ............ die dooie perd het uiteindelik gesink........................
Garfield2010 Posted February 7, 2012 Author Posted February 7, 2012 Wonder what will happen to the roll-over option that was taken by athletes? Once again we had to figure it out ourselves. FB page closed, website closed. No statements, no apologies nothing. Cannot say I am surprised however. We are now Unlocked. Guess their contradicting posts on this forum will also be removed next.
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