KenL
Tour Rookie
If it were £15 I’d not be bothered but £45 is quite a lot of money.
Refunds Open Competitions
- Thread starter 3offTheTee
- Start date
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
I wish OP had got their money back… Although I got to wondering why the club might have this rigid 3wk/no refund stance in the T&C
First thing is if they’re halfway savvy then these T&C have been reviewed and approved by a lawyer (a few hundred in costs right there) Second, since it costs money, they will want the T&C to be reusable and not single use just for this Open.
That means the T&C will be more broadly written to encompass multiple events & scenarios they might host
i.e maybe a weeks’ notice might be totally doable for this particular event but other events may need a three week notice period because the club is incurring costs say for dietary requirements or personalised goodies, loss of accommodation and the like, that can’t easily be swapped to a replacement player
Also anyone who’s organised any golf group get together will know that re-filling say half a dozen drop outs might take 20-30 calls and take several hours, so there is a resource needed
Lastly & maybe most important, when it becomes known that folk can drop out just days before and get money back, it will be abused. (& it will get out)
People will just book up when entry opens just to grab a place and decide later if they really can attend, knowing they won’t lose any cash by pulling out & while the OP's case is genuine there are plenty who'll lie through their teeth that they have to cancel for xyz (important) reason
As I say I wish he'd got refund but its easy to see why they wont give it
First thing is if they’re halfway savvy then these T&C have been reviewed and approved by a lawyer (a few hundred in costs right there) Second, since it costs money, they will want the T&C to be reusable and not single use just for this Open.
That means the T&C will be more broadly written to encompass multiple events & scenarios they might host
i.e maybe a weeks’ notice might be totally doable for this particular event but other events may need a three week notice period because the club is incurring costs say for dietary requirements or personalised goodies, loss of accommodation and the like, that can’t easily be swapped to a replacement player
Also anyone who’s organised any golf group get together will know that re-filling say half a dozen drop outs might take 20-30 calls and take several hours, so there is a resource needed
Lastly & maybe most important, when it becomes known that folk can drop out just days before and get money back, it will be abused. (& it will get out)
People will just book up when entry opens just to grab a place and decide later if they really can attend, knowing they won’t lose any cash by pulling out & while the OP's case is genuine there are plenty who'll lie through their teeth that they have to cancel for xyz (important) reason
As I say I wish he'd got refund but its easy to see why they wont give it
3offTheTee
Tour Rookie
Your comments are valid Slab. I took up what someone said about not withdrawing and I asked to have my place back for which I had paid.
I took a screenshot earlier today and my name was still on. I received an email later today stating that the place hd been taken and my name could go on The Reserve list. probably going to charge me £45!!
This is what is quoted on their web page re visitors:
Quote
“We don’t offer an online booking system as we firmly believe it is important to strike up a relationship with our visiting golfers. From the initial enquiry until the day of play we hope to make this experience an enjoyable one. If you wish to check availability for a tee time call.”
Obviously NOT my experience and I know I am not going to receive a refund. Live and learn
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
Most opens I have seen say " No refunds after the tee times have been published"
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
So they have filled the spot already and yet still won’t get a refund ?!
Do they have a social media account ?
3offTheTee
Tour Rookie
Correct Phil
I have written again asking to reconsider.
After contacting a mod the Club is :
CRUDEN BAY GOLF CLUB
Arthur Wedge
Well-known member
D
Deleted member 21784
Guest
Bunch of con artists
Bet the terms and conditions arent even legally enforceable
Charge back on your credit card maybe
The fact they have filled your place id be posting that all over their socials
Jensen
Tour Rookie
In contrast Whitley Bay Golf Club provided a superb service.
Booked to play in an Open last year and it hammered it down, so much so that we thought the competition would be cancelled. The greens surely would’ve been flooded. Not the case it went ahead.
Took the matter up with the club who have booked us in this year to play using last years entry fee.
Fantastic, proactive club where I have played previously and will continue to support based on their proactive approach
Booked to play in an Open last year and it hammered it down, so much so that we thought the competition would be cancelled. The greens surely would’ve been flooded. Not the case it went ahead.
Took the matter up with the club who have booked us in this year to play using last years entry fee.
Fantastic, proactive club where I have played previously and will continue to support based on their proactive approach
sunshine
Well-known member
I think it's reasonable for them to charge an admin fee for providing a refund. They need to pay someone in the office to manage the bookings and then the bank charges too. Also I'm sure plenty of peole would speculatively book loads of opens on the off chance of going, so the admin fee has to be large enough to act as a dterrent to time wasters. I reckon £25 is fair.
sunshine
Well-known member
No, I was making a general point. But, thanks for policing my post.
Haha, looks like you didn't read the post and your protest is very unconvincing. It's really not important, we all make mistakes
The Lion
Well-known member
Was gonna say this as I recognise the blurb. It is rather odd however as they allowed me to receive a refund when I couldn’t make it to play their open in recent times. That was under a previous club secretary, the longstanding Les Durno however.
Maybe their new GM is of the modernist penny pinching accountant type who are ruining the club game for visitors by continually hiking fees by random amounts
Swango1980
Well-known member
Unless you withdrew before their no refund deadline passed?Was gonna say this as I recognise the blurb. It is rather odd however as they allowed me to receive a refund when I couldn’t make it to play their open in recent times. That was under a previous club secretary, the longstanding Les Durno however.
Maybe their new GM is of the modernist penny pinching accountant type who are ruining the club game for visitors by continually hiking fees by random amounts
stymied
Member
I've been delaying contacting a club where I paid an open fee in excess of £500 for the group but have to cancel. Just contacted the club to see what sort of options I have (refund or replace players is what I asked about).
It seems at the high-end clubs they all have a requirement to pay upon booking and no refunds unless the course is closed. Tough policy when tee times are often required a year in advance for visitors.
It seems at the high-end clubs they all have a requirement to pay upon booking and no refunds unless the course is closed. Tough policy when tee times are often required a year in advance for visitors.
3offTheTee
Tour Rookie
Understand what you are saying but we had a week away playing a couple of courses in The Highlands, Moray, Peterhead and finally Cruden Bay. I arranged a 9a.m tee time as upon completion, say 1 p.m. we had a 6 hour journey to South Cumbria.
There are no Bank charges in refunding a credit card booking as The Golf Clubs turnover is reduced with the refund.
Hope you agree it was not a speculative booking as it filled up within 10 minutes and I had a hospital appointment which was a cancellation, hence the short notice. Class course but unfortunately has left a sour taste.
No idea what they take on Tee bookings but expect North of £2million.
Time to move on and pay more attention to The T and C’s. Lesson learnt
Swango1980
Well-known member
I guess it is to stop people booking slots early, just to reserve them on the off chance they can play. Then withdrawing thereafter because at some point they realise they cannot.
Otherwise, at prestigious clubs, it could be tempting for people to book the slot before knowing they can play
adasko
Assistant Pro
I'm not surprised with that. I went in March before my membership renewal to ask what plans they have for the greens as they were in horrible condition.
Was told I'm being rude to question greens condition. If they want get the greens up to scratch this year it will be my last year as a member there.
Was told I'm being rude to question greens condition. If they want get the greens up to scratch this year it will be my last year as a member there.
stymied
Member
Yeah totally understand that. Luckily my plane tickets and hotels were all able to be modified as I'm going to make the trip in June instead. Most courses have let me change dates, but we'll see how they handle the comp.
sunshine
Well-known member
I wasn’t accusing you of being a time waster, just making an observation that the current policy is probably the result of speculative bookings in the past, which caused extra admin for the club.
sunshine
Well-known member
What have accountants got to do with it?Was gonna say this as I recognise the blurb. It is rather odd however as they allowed me to receive a refund when I couldn’t make it to play their open in recent times. That was under a previous club secretary, the longstanding Les Durno however.
Maybe their new GM is of the modernist penny pinching accountant type who are ruining the club game for visitors by continually hiking fees by random amounts
