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When is £32 not £32

ashthetashashthetash Posts: 164
in General Chat
Concept Sports do this for the Fast Twitch series - although you can enter by sending the entry form with a cheque.



There's an on-line entry system which doesn't tell you about the 'handling fee' until you check out. It is the 'racediary' web site. Is that the same for the one you are entering?



Seems a bit sharp if they don't let you enter by post...

Comments

  • ashthetashashthetash Posts: 164
    Another whinge from me. I was going to enter the Concord Triathlon at Bradfield. I found the website. Entry fee £32. No downloadable entrey form. The only way to enter seems to be online. I filled all the boxes and after a few minutes came to the screen asking me to confirm the amounts. £35.20! I checked the breakdown and it appears there is a 10% handling fee.



    Is this normal? I have certainly not come across it before.



    I accept that there are costs in running a triathlon and that that means entry fees are a bit more than say a 5 mile race but surely all these costs should be taken into account in setting the entry fee and not just added on at the end.



    I could understand if there were other ways to enter the race and the surcharge was because you wanted to take advantage of an additional service (entering online).



    Am I right in thinking that this appears to be some sort of false advertising!
  • ashthetashashthetash Posts: 164
    Just went back to Concorde website as there was a link for open water training I wanted. They have now updated it to show that there is a handling charge. Too late for me though. I think they are a bunch of con artists and if I paid the extra I would spend all day being annoyed with them rather than enjoying a triathlon.



    Now if they replied to my email offering the chance to enter by post . . .



    Still they haven't had the common decency to reply yet so I'll look for something else that day.
  • Free WillyFree Willy Posts: 63
    Over here in Australia most of the triathlon events you can only enter on-line and there is almost always a handling fee, but if you can get to enter by post they often charge an even bigger admin fee for dealing with it.



    It does p*** you off you think you are paying x but then find it is actually x + y. What is even better is when you can only pay on-line, you get the handling fee and then when you use a credit card (as that's all they accept!) you have another fee to pay!



    Basically they know we need our fix and are prepared to pay out for it - most of the time!



    I comes to a point where you think I can pay out x number of dollars/pounds to do a sprint (over in an hour or so) or I can train for free for many hours, I used to do an event at least once a month (October to May) but now I only do the longer distance events as I feel I am getting slightly better value - especially as I am usually right at the back and take full advantage of the catering!



    FW























  • TTX PROTTX PRO Posts: 225
    ALLWAYS read the small print.I always expect stuff like that when i enter races.allways allow an extra few pound just in case.
  • BarbsaramaBarbsarama Posts: 73
    You'd think that there if there was going to be a charge for handling it would be for the physical posted entries over the online entries, given that when you enter online the money is directly transferred to their account and you've completed all details that (if they've set up correctly) automatically polulate their entry lists... Rather than them having to recieve the entry, deposit the cheque and then enter the information into their data sheet / spreadsheet...
  • ashthetashashthetash Posts: 164
    ALLWAYS read the small print.I always expect stuff like that when i enter races.allways allow an extra few pound just in case.
    A fine idea. I just think that the small print for a handling charge should be near the front end of the process. This charge did not appear until what I would think (can't say for sure as I never got any further) was getting on for the last page.



    It's not the money itself that is the problem it's the underlying feeling that they were trying to con me that rankles.
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