Bicycle Shows US

We put on large bicycle rides for a living -- we've been doing it for years.In May we were running the 50th anniversary of one of our rides.The day before the ride we were sued by one of the towns we pedal through, in spite of the fact that we had been to meetings with the police and the town clerk to ensure that everything was fine.We were told by a judge that we had to cancel 1,cyclists from our ride -- a ride that was taking place the next day.We contacted the riders to warn them of upcoming trouble.I am the sole owner of this business, and I lost EVERYTHING when we were sued -- about $90,(I earn about $36,a year, so...)We sent at least five or six different emails to our beloved customers, letting them know that we were in terrible troubleWe would pay ALL of them back in full, but it wasn't going to be speedy, or pleasant for anyone.We were blessed to receive many replies from bicyclists who had been inconvenienced by the last-minute cancellationbut understood the terrible spot we were in"Hang in there." "Pay me when you can." "I'm mad and I want my money, but I understand that this is a mess."And then there is [redacted] , the complainant here.The ONLY person to repeatedly write us: "What about ME? Where's MY money? I'm going to sue! I'm going to report you to the Revdex.com!"We responded over and over -- we agree that she had been treated poorly and we were writing refund checks as fast as we could, but we just didn't have the moneyBy ride day all of the registration money is GONE -- we have spent it on perishable food, permits, non-refundable portable toilet rental...These explanations did nothing for [redacted] : "Where's my money? Why haven't I been paid yet."Make no mistake -- she was wronged, and she deserves a full refund (which she has no received) but we simply did not have any money.At this writing I have maxed out my credit cards and wiped out my bank accounts to issue refundsWe have knocked our debt down from about $90,to about $73,Think about it -- I need to find a way to bring in $90,ABOVE my current salaryIt's going to take years.So we feel terrible that people were unfairly inconvenienced(And we feel bad that while trying to have fun riding bikes we lost $90,for reasons that are only occasionally clear...) We're glad that [redacted] has been paid

We put on large bicycle rides for a living -- we've been doing it...

for 18 years.In May 2014 we were running the 50th anniversary of one of our rides.The day before the ride we were sued by one of the towns we pedal through, in spite of the fact that we had been to meetings with the police and the town clerk to ensure that everything was fine.We were told by a judge that we had to cancel 1,000 cyclists from our ride -- a ride that was taking place the next day.We contacted the riders to warn them of upcoming trouble.I am the sole owner of this business, and I lost EVERYTHING when we were sued -- about $90,000. (I earn about $36,000 a year, so...)We sent at least five or six different emails to our beloved customers, letting them know that we were in terrible trouble. We would pay ALL of them back in full, but it wasn't going to be speedy, or pleasant for anyone.We were blessed to receive many replies from bicyclists who had been inconvenienced by the last-minute cancellation... but understood the terrible spot we were in. "Hang in there." "Pay me when you can." "I'm mad and I want my money, but I understand that this is a mess."And then there is [redacted], the complainant here.The ONLY person to repeatedly write us: "What about ME? Where's MY money? I'm going to sue! I'm going to report you to the Revdex.com!"We responded over and over -- we agree that she had been treated poorly and we were writing refund checks as fast as we could, but we just didn't have the money. By ride day all of the registration money is GONE -- we have spent it on perishable food, permits, non-refundable portable toilet rental...These explanations did nothing for [redacted]: "Where's my money? Why haven't I been paid yet."Make no mistake -- she was wronged, and she deserves a full refund (which she has no received) but we simply did not have any money.At this writing I have maxed out my credit cards and wiped out my bank accounts to issue refunds. We have knocked our debt down from about $90,000 to about $73,000. Think about it -- I need to find a way to bring in $90,000 ABOVE my current salary. It's going to take years.So we feel terrible that people were unfairly inconvenienced. (And we feel bad that while trying to have fun riding bikes we lost $90,000 for reasons that are only occasionally clear...) We're glad that [redacted] has been paid.

Review: I have signed up for the Ride to Montauk on March **, 2014 and paid the amount of $206.33 using my debit card. The ride was a 70 mile Montauk to Montauk, happening on May **. I reserved a motel in Montauk accordingly so that me and my family could enjoy it. As I was checking in at the hotel late at night on May **, one day before the ride, the [redacted] who was checking me told me my ride had been cancelled. At that point I had not received any communication from the tour organizers, nothing. I then checked in at the motel since there was nothing to do at that point and my family was tired. At midnight I received an email from the organizers confirming it was cancelled and that:

"70-mile Montauk-to-Montauk loop: Cancelled against our will by men in bad suits. If you have signed up for that route you have some choices:

o You can have a full refund, including the on-line service fees, with my very sincere apologies. Just send an email here. Don’t forget to include a FULL name (first name and last name) for each person who wants a refund. (The software is almost as dumb as I am, so if you say, “Refund my sister, her husband, and my neighbor,” we have no idea who you’re talking about, even if you all registered at the same time with the same credit card.)

I immediately filed for a refund as instructed. I followed up on June * and was told that "refunds will take several weeks to process". On July * I followed up again and same response. And again on October ** and always with completely unacceptable responses. I also incurred lodging and food expenses for me and my family that I would not have had to pay if the organizers had advised us before hand that the ride was cancelled.Desired Settlement: I would like to get a full refund of the $206.33 that I paid.

Business

Response:

We put on large bicycle rides for a living -- we've been doing it for 18 years.In May 2014 we were running the 50th anniversary of one of our rides.The day before the ride we were sued by one of the towns we pedal through, in spite of the fact that we had been to meetings with the police and the town clerk to ensure that everything was fine.We were told by a judge that we had to cancel 1,000 cyclists from our ride -- a ride that was taking place the next day.We contacted the riders to warn them of upcoming trouble.I am the sole owner of this business, and I lost EVERYTHING when we were sued -- about $90,000. (I earn about $36,000 a year, so...)We sent at least five or six different emails to our beloved customers, letting them know that we were in terrible trouble. We would pay ALL of them back in full, but it wasn't going to be speedy, or pleasant for anyone.We were blessed to receive many replies from bicyclists who had been inconvenienced by the last-minute cancellation... but understood the terrible spot we were in. "Hang in there." "Pay me when you can." "I'm mad and I want my money, but I understand that this is a mess."And then there is [redacted], the complainant here.The ONLY person to repeatedly write us: "What about ME? Where's MY money? I'm going to sue! I'm going to report you to the Revdex.com!"We responded over and over -- we agree that she had been treated poorly and we were writing refund checks as fast as we could, but we just didn't have the money. By ride day all of the registration money is GONE -- we have spent it on perishable food, permits, non-refundable portable toilet rental...These explanations did nothing for [redacted]: "Where's my money? Why haven't I been paid yet."Make no mistake -- she was wronged, and she deserves a full refund (which she has no received) but we simply did not have any money.At this writing I have maxed out my credit cards and wiped out my bank accounts to issue refunds. We have knocked our debt down from about $90,000 to about $73,000. Think about it -- I need to find a way to bring in $90,000 ABOVE my current salary. It's going to take years.So we feel terrible that people were unfairly inconvenienced. (And we feel bad that while trying to have fun riding bikes we lost $90,000 for reasons that are only occasionally clear...) We're glad that [redacted] has been paid.