Close to 500 cyclists were left confused and angry after finding out that the organiser of a cycling programme they had registered and prepared for did not show up on the event day which was scheduled to be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, last Sunday (July 31).
The riders were there to participate in the “Enduride Challenge” and “Fun Ride with Stars” activities which was organised by an cycling events organiser as part of its inaugural cycling exhibition from July 29 to 31.
The event was meant to start at 8am, however, participants had gathered since 6:30am and waited for hours, but were left puzzled by the fact that the organising team was nowhere to be found.
On the night before the event, the organiser had posted on its official Facebook page “See you tomorrow!”, which seemed to suggest that the event was scheduled to go on as planned.
However, it was not until 11:41am on the same day that the organiser officially announced on Facebook that it “had to cancel the Enduride and Fun Ride as the person in charge, who is the event organiser, did not turn up.”
“We are not trying to deny responsibility or whatsoever but we are just trying to clear the air on the issues happened this morning as lots of people (are) asking us on the issue and we’ll try our level best to compensate participants on our shortcoming.”
They also stated that they would be proceeding with full refunds for both rides.
Participants were left unhappy
The Facebook post did not go down well amongst its participants who took to the comments section to slam the organiser for the failed event.
“It’s a complete disgrace to the cycling community. Don’t tell me your event (relied) solely on one single individual. No back up or assistant in charge?”
“Don’t play victims and blame others. It’s a shame,” said a user.
Meanwhile, a number of users expressed their utmost disappointment with the organisers of the event as some of the participants came all the way from other states such as Sabah and Kelantan.
“We want a full refund and compensation. We came from Sabah just to join this event. And in the end, it’s cancelled. We had to fork out money for flights, accommodation and everything else,” said a netizen.
Another user commented, “I drove 7 hours from Kelantan to join this event. My friends took a flight from Sabah just to join this event. We want full refund! Gas, accommodation, flight tickets, etc!!!”
Refund process
As of yesterday morning (August 3) the refunds have not been issued as of yet. The organiser mentioned that they have decided to go with manual refunds and not through the ticketing provider as that will take up to 14 days or more.
“Therefore all refund requests are to be done via our website. This may speed up the refund process. Our Accounts Department will do the money transfer directly into your account after you fill in and verify all the details required in our website. Please prepare your Ticket Number as Proof of Participation,” they wrote.
However, they did not clarify whether they are only going to refund participants for the ticket costs or for other costs as well.
What do you think about this?
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