quiksilver

First of all, I'd just like to say "thank you" again, for all of your good advice. I really do appreciate it. All noted regarding "makeithappen" and even contacting the FBI. I never thought of that but you know, since mail fraud is a federal offense, I see no reason why they couldn't get involved. In terms of the no-refund policy, I was definitely informed of this AFTER the fact (ie- after my money order was received by Skyride) and since I was informed by Gena that they don't "tape" their customer service calls for quality control (big surprise there, and big MISTAKE on her part for letting me know), they don't have leg to stand on. In no way, shape or form did they advise of their supposed no-refund policy either verbally, in writing, or even via email. The way they conduct business is really a joke. So I am almost 100% sure that the situation can only be viewed in my favor. Nothing against GA residents but man, some of them are slow as anything. The detective who is looking into the situation for me down there takes like 4 days to return my calls and most of the time I just get his voicemail: "Hey, this is < >. Just leave me a message an' I'll git back wit' you." (mispellings were deliberate. LOL!) I know it's not the nicest thing to say but I have just lost all patience with this entire situation. And that's one thing I cannot do if I want to ultimately achieve the desired results.... Anyway, will continue to check in every so often with updates. I will actually be in France for the next few days so wish me a safe flight!!!! ~Claire

Oh, and as far as the full "story" is concerned, as someone else had asked..... Basically what happened was this: I was contacted the day before my dive was scheduled and advised that the jump was being cancelled due to weather. Actually, the weather the next day turned out to be great so I called up the skydiving reservations office (that would be Skyride) and asked if we were still on, being that the weather wasn't an issue. It was then that I was advised that none of the planes on site were operational and that this was the REAL problem (not the weather). So, I went back to everyone in my group, explained the situation and basically we all decided that due to the fact that we were not given an honest answer in the first place and that when we finally DID get the honest answer we didn't like what we heard, we decided not to pursue skydiving with this particular company. At that time, I was still under the impression that the "company" and the "drop zone" were one and the same. Now I know better. So to continue, when I called Skyride back to advise that we did not want to reschedule our jump but instead wanted our money back, THAT'S when I was given the whole song and dance about their "no-refund" policy, which obviously no one ever told me about PRIOR to my reservations purchase, otherwise I would certainly not have chosen to give them any of my money. Then, when I told the woman in the reservations office that it was entirely unfair that we were all out a total of $1300, she advised that I take it up with a woman named "Gena" in the corporate office. So after several weeks of back and forth with that (due to the fact that they gave me the wrong address to send my complaint letter to....TWICE), my refund request was declined. Ironically, on the same day my refund request was denied, I got a call back from the reservations agent who originally sold me the "jump slots". She advised that i would be getting a check in the mail the vry next week and that she knew the owners. After assuring me I would get a full refund, (on more than one occasion) and dodging my phonecall for weeks when it was obvious that no such check was going to be produced, I came to find out that she "no longer worked" there. How convenient. Again, in a bizarre twist of fate, the very same day that I was informed that this girl (Sarah) no longer was employed with the company, Gena called me back and basically had the nerve to reprimand me for "going through Sarah" to resolve an issue which was already "case closed". I frostily informed her that Sarah had advised me that in fact she (Gena) had given me the "wrong info" and that I would be getting a check in the mail directly. Of course, this fell on deaf ears and Gena simply informed me that she was not responsible for the misinformation that someone else gave to me. When I pressed the issue, and outright asked Gena for the reason that my request was denied, she would not give me an answer. She also advised that a "panel" had made the decision (which I find highly dubious). When I asked if I could speak to one of the "panel" members, of course my request was declined and I was told that this is the "end of the line". The woman all but hung up on me and it was at this point that I had just had it..... Honestly, the $200 on my end is a loss but at this point it's not even about that. It's about my little brother, who paid $400 for him and his buddy to go (He's in college still and money doesn't grow on trees. You know how the college years are), and it's about my friends and other customers of this company and what they've lost. We've all been given the run around and it just needs to be dealt with. Oh, and I was supposed to jump out of Perkasie, PA at a place called Skydive Pennridge. All these names are so damn confusing. First they were calling it Skydive Perkasie, then they were calling it Pennridge.... Whatever. I never even ended up going so I never even saw the site but I do know that all the people (to my knowledge) that I spoke with were in GA. Although to be honest, seeing as this company it so shady, I could've been talking to "Bob in Honduras" for all I know. Anyway, that's about it. Hope the full, unabridged version of the story put a few questions to rest. The whole process of rehashing it all is a bit draining but I'd much rather rehash that leave suspicions floating around (ie- suspicions that maybe I am making up the story, that I am not really who I say I am, etc.) One last thing---- ANY DIVERS IN GEORGIA WHO HAVE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THESE PEOPLE< PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME. THE LOCAL REPORTER I CONTACTED IN GA IS STILL INTERESTED IN THE STORY BUT WOULD IDEALLY LIKE TO GET SOME LOCAL PEOPLE INVOLVED AS WELL AND UNFORTUNATELY I AM LOCATED IN NJ. (THOUGH I'LL FLY DOWN THERE IF I REALLY NEED TO.) THANKS ALL....

Hi Guys (and girls) :) It's been a while since I have visited the site, mostly due to an outrageous work schedule and pretty crazy hours. Therefore, I just wanted to post a "test" thread to make sure I was posting correctly. Anyhow, I was taking a look through some of the posts since I have been away and noticed that a couple of people questioned the fact that I had lost $1300. Actually, all of the money is not mine. Approx. $200 worth is actually my portion and the rest belongs to siblings and friends. (There was a group of 7 of us in all, hence the high $$ amount). At any rate, I wish I could say I have a great update but so far, things have been a bit slower moving than I would like. The lawyer I am working with is still reviewing my documents and researching Skyride to determine whether or not they are "worth" enough to go after as far as a "Class Action" is concerned. No doubt there are plenty of unhappy customers but the issue is, does SKyride pull in enough dough to make them worth suing on this kind of a level? Apparently that's still being determined.... The other thing I've done is contacted the county police department where Skyride's supposed headquarters are located and there is a detective there who is presently conducting an investigation into the company for mail fraud (being that I mailed them a money order which they cashed, thereby making this action a federal offense). I am almost hesitant to make this info. public since as a few of you have pointed out, anyone (including the Skyride people) could be reading all of this information right now. But the bottom line is, they've ticked off so many people and have such a bad rep that soon enough, there'll be nowhere left for them to hide, regardless of what I say or don't say.....

just a test!

Hey Guys, I apologize. In my rush to get the word out, I totally overlooked creating a profile, providing my name, etc. I'll have to do that later on tonight when I get home. But I want you all to know that I have nothing to hide. My name is Claire McHugh and I live in NJ. Obviously I prefer not to say exactly where, given the nature of this case. I provided my work email address because I am almost always at work and wanted to be able to get instant notification of any messages. But you can also reach me at quicksilver_0_7@yahoo.com. Honestly I have never gone skydiving to this day. I would still love to go but between work, the lawsuit, and everything else. I just don't have the time. Plus the weather is getting colder up here in NJ by the day. I understand that some of you are cautious and may be thinking I am a decoy of some sort. I can assure you I am not. I just want what is mine and what is just deserved. Later on today, I will log back in and enter my profile, provide all my information, etc. If I thought I wasn't going to get "hate" calls, I'd even provide my phone number if that helped to prove anything but to date, I've already gotten a lot of nasty emails pertaining to this matter and I feel very uncomfortable putting myself at risk in terms of privacy. If there is anything else I can do to prove that I am legitimate, please let me know!!!! Again, I have absolutely nothing to hide. But 1800SKYRIDE does. And you can check out their record on the Better Business Bureau website. To date they have 30 complaints filed against them, 19 of which have gone unresolved. Also, they operate under a million different names (Alabama Skydiving, Adventure Skydiving, 800-skyride, 800-Skydive, Starlight Skyride Center, etc.) and are affiliated with so many locations that it's becoming a full time job to track these people down..... One more thing -- If you don't believe me, you can go to the FOX 5 TV website and email the I Team directly regarding this matter. If you don't receive a response from an R. Travis within 3-4 days confirming that he has been advised (by me) of the situation and that we are working on getting a story out to the public, let me know and I'll ask him to personally email you myself. I don't know what else I can do to prove that this is not some kind of hoax. Perhaps when my lawyer sends out notices to 800-skyride customers advising them all of a Class Action suit, it will be recognized that this is serious......... Claire

Hey Chasing Blue: I couldn't believe it when I came across your post as I was surfing the web. You have no idea what I have gone through with this so called company!!! I am in the process of sending all the documentation I have on them to a lawyer who has expressed an interest in filing a Class Action suit against them. I actually live in NJ but I am willing (and will probably have to) go down to Georgia to take them out personally. I also have contacted a local Investigative reporter in GA at FOX 5 NEWS who is interested in covering the story and we are working on trying to locate people in the GA area who have had negative experiences with SKYRIDE. As far as I'm concerned, they pretty much stole my money and I am now out $1300.00. I have so much more to say about this and would be happy to share all the details with everyone so that we can get enough backing to put them out of business altogether. Speaking of which, they're not even legally IN business as far as I know, since they're not legally registered as a company. (I checked with both the state and county offices and they have no info. on them at all). If ANYONE here from GA has had negative experiences with SKYRIDE, please let me know. Since they are headquartered in GA, the reporter I am in contact with wants to do a local piece about them and ideally would like to interview (in addition to myself) a few Georgia residents who have had negative dealings with them. I usually don't post my email address out on the web, but in the interest of bringing these people to justice, I am doing everything I possibly can to ensure that no one else is ever taken advantage of by them again!!! Please contact me at cgm@jny.com, with ANY information at all, along with your permission (at your discretion) for my lawyer to contact you directly (again for purposes of pursuing a Class Action). Together we WILL bring this company down and it is our duty as consumers to make sure that this is exactly what happens!!! ~Claire