Skydive Long Island

Review: On 8-**, my husband and I went skydiving at this place. I went first and my jump was fine. After watching a 5 minute video where they tell you repeatedly that you cannot sue them if there is an injury or death, and that "if you sue, you WILL lose" (this is a direct quote from the video) and waiting for what felt like forever, I was finally on my way. The instructor gave me a 5 second crash course for the proper jump and landing procedures, and off I went. The trouble started after this.

My husband was next to go skydiving. We jumped separately because if something happened to us, our son would not lose both of his parents. So we went back inside, paid for his jump, watched the same video, and off we went to wait. over 1 1/2 hours later, he was finally called to jump. He was fitted in his harness, and given the same 5 second briefing on the jump procedure. At no time did we ever watch a training video on tandem jumping. As he was getting in the plane, he did not feel well and had to use the bathroom. They stopped the plane and let him off. The instructor told him that this was not a problem, and he could get on the next plane. He said OK and walked over to the hangar. This is when we were told that we needed to pay an extra $125 for him to jump again. We went back inside and we were told that there are no refunds.

There are no signs posted anywhere explaining this, and there is nothing posted in the hangar that states if you do not jump you have to repay. There is nothing referencing this in the 5 minute disclaimer video in the beginning nor in the legal disclaimers, all 5 pages, and this is the only statement regarding a refund, and I found this on their website:

"Cancellation & Refund Policy: We require at least 48 hours notice for cancelling a reservation and you will receive a full refund for any payment made towards your jump. The $50 reservation deposit is non-refundable and non-transferrable for cancellations within 48 hours of your reservation. If we cancel due to weather, you may reschedule your reservation or receive a full refund. Gift Certificates are non-refundable but are transferrable. Merchandise sales are all final."

I can completely understand them keeping the $50 deposit fee, but to keep the full amount and not explaining this policy when we paid was ridiculous. They ripped us off, and I will never recommend this company to anyone. To top it all off, when everything was said and done, I spoke to a manager who kept telling me "this is the policy and if you want you can take it up with the owner, and he will tell you the same thing." The owner was conveniently nowhere to be found.Desired Settlement: I want a refund of $195, the amount I am due back as a refund, put back on my credit card.

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted] and [redacted]:

I am the owner of Skydive Long Island. I established this business in 1986, I am a pioneer in the industry and operate one of the most respected skydiving facilities in the industry.

[redacted], I am sorry you are dissatisfied with us. However, I want to clarify our policies and practices for you. The cancellation policy you posted in your review and complaint can be found on our website and refers to cancelling reservations within 48 hours of the scheduled arrival time.

[redacted], you were on our aircraft and taxi-ing out to the runway when you decided you did not want to jump. We have a plane load of customers and staff who witnessed your panic attack and heard you demand to get off the plane because you were afraid to jump. Had you decided not to skydive while you were still on the ground, we would have immediately refunded you everything except the $50 deposit. Once you stepped foot on our aircraft, we incurred the full expense for your skydive which is why the following is also posted on our website:

What if I decide I don’t want to jump?

If you decide you do not want to jump prior to getting on the plane, we will happily offer a full refund less the deposit for your slot. However once you are on the aircraft no refunds will be given. If you decide you do not wish to exit the aircraft, you and your instructor can ride the plane down.

[redacted], in one of the complaints you also wrote that we asked you to leave the premises. We were deeply concerned by the prolonged and heated argument you and [redacted] had in our parking lot that was both verbal and physical. It was so disturbing that many of the other customers on the premises repeatedly voiced concern to our front office staff. Finally after you two had been arguing for over an hour, we did ask you to leave because of the intensity of your argument. I reviewed all the footage from our surveillance cameras of the entire episode and it is incredibly alarming.

[redacted], while you are not entitled to a refund, I am willing to issue one providing you retract your comments and agree to stop all further comments about my business.

[redacted], I am available to speak with you about this matter and can be reached at the office at ###-###-####.

Sincerely, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

Hello [redacted],

After reading this post I actually thought you were sincere

in your request to speak with us. On Sunday I called the number you provided

and spoke to [redacted]. I told her the situation and that you requested we call to

speak with you. She put me on hold for a while, then came back and said that

you were not answering your phone. She then took my name and phone number and

said she would give it to you to call me back. It is now Tuesday night and I

have not received one call from you. So while I thought you genuinely wanted to

work this situation out, you obviously do not care or keep your word.

I am very curious what "charges" you still

incurred for the jump not being taken. By my count, you had 3 other jumpers on

the plane. At $245 per person, that comes out to $735. 2 of these jumpers had

video, so the total on that is $270. Totaling that up you made $1,005 for that

run. You did not waste fuel because the plane still went up, and the only

person who may have been out was the instructor, if he is paid on commission.

So where exactly did you "incur expenses"?

I would also like you to provide the link where you post the

"what if I do not jump" on your website, because I could not find it,

unless the change was very recently made. I think it is very stingy that you

will not refund me my hard earned money for a service that we did not get to

enjoy. If my $195 means that much to you and you are really that hard up for

it, then keep your 30 pieces. But now you will find out what this cost you.

Your greed has cost you a lot of repeat business. My husband

and I are looking to become USPA certified, so we can jump solo. You lost the

future money we would have spent on the required jumps needed in order to

qualify for the class, and you lost the money we would have paid for the class.

You can do your own math there. You also lost our word of mouth. Because you

are so greedy, my husband went to Skydive the Ranch, [redacted],

and had a MUCH better experience that we did with your business. Everyone there

is super nice, and very supportive. When they jumped, the instructor jumped

sideways and did spins, and let him pull the cord and flail the parachute. I

got none of this when I jumped with your company. For the same mileage it takes

to get to you in LI, it takes to get to the Ranch upstate. So my husband and I

are now telling everyone to go to the Ranch. Their employees are much nicer

than yours, their facility is nicer, and the experience is much better.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response: