Active Refund insurance - beware

[v8rumble]

As anyone had any experience of Active Refund - good or bad? I entered the Dragon Ride 2021 for the 98KM ride. I paid £34.99 for the insurance advertised with the entry from Active (a company based in Texas) that promised a no quibble refund with promises that no questions would be asked, "so if your knee ached or your buddy dropped out" , you would get a no quibble refund. A day later my mate who also entered the Dragon Ride told me he had entered the 160KM ride. We were riding together so I called the ride organisers, Human Race, and asked to transfer my entry to the 160KM ride. At no time was I told this would invalidate the insurance I had purchased.
My mate has now pulled out, so I decided to request a refund. Active are telling me that as I switched distances, my insurance was invalid, so no refund would be made. I have spoken to Human Race but are not hopeful.

 

[mjr]

No experience with Active Refund, but I've friends with bad past experiences with active.com who seem to operate it and I notice that the Dragon Ride now seem to offer "Booking Protect" instead.

The terms seem to be https://refund.active.com/termsandconditions-current which do clearly say "ACTIVE Refund purchases may not be transferred to other registrations" so if you ticked something like a "I have read and accept the terms and conditions", then you were actually "told this would invalidate the insurance".

Sorry, it sucks, but https://humanrace.co.uk/withdrawal-policy/ makes it sound like for £10 you can transfer your entry to another open event (but next year's ride is not open yet) if you like the look of any of them, or transfer it to someone else — as long as you do it this week ("4 weeks before the event date"), so because it's a sold-out event, you might be able to sell your entry through small-ads or cycling club forums in the next day or two and get some of your money back.

 

[v8rumble]

MJR,

I respect your view, but the acknowledgement from ACTIVE is quite clear, I am covered for the Dragon RIDE 2021, not a specific distance:

"Smart move. You’ve added ACTIVE Refund to your registration. Keep the information below for your records, as the Reference ID is necessary to request a refund.

ACTIVE Refund Information

​

Participant	Activity	Refundable Amount	Reference ID	Refund Submission Deadline*
	Dragon Ride 2021	GBP 139.95	CT##########	23-Sep-2021 23:59:59 UTC

*The deadline above is determined by the UTC time zone. For example, if an activity was on a Saturday, the refund request must be submitted online no later than 11:59PM UTC the Wednesday prior.

Should you need to request a refund, you may submit a refund request online up to midnight 48 hours before your activity date.
Feel free to contact ACTIVE customer support directly at support@active.com with any questions.

Here are some helpful tips to remember:

• Take your time. You can request a refund for your registration anytime, so long as it is more than 48 hours before the activity date.
• No games. You are covered for the amount listed above!
• No pop quizzes. You don’t need documentation for your refund request. When you say you can’t go because you were injured during training, your buddy bailed, or you just aren’t feeling it anymore – we’ve got you!
• No wait times. In most cases, your request can be handled entirely online, so that’s 0 time spent on hold and 0 time wasted.
• This is just for you. Your activity registration may be transferrable to a friend in some cases, but ACTIVE Refund is not.
• Keep your Reference ID handy. You will find this information above for each activity or participant.
• No take backs. If you request a refund on your registration, the organizer will be notified that you forfeit your spot in the activity.
• Event cancellations are a different story. If your activity is flat-out cancelled, postponed, or changed to a virtual/online activity, your registration can no longer be refunded through ACTIVE Refund. Next steps are up to the activity organizer. Depending on the circumstances, you may have a right to a refund or other remedy under your country's laws or under the activity organizer's terms and conditions.

To view more details, visit our ACTIVE Refund Information page or see our full Terms and Conditions"



So I maintain that anyone who enters a sportive and thinks they will get a refund from ACTIVE if their circumstances change should be very careful. None of their claims such as no games, no pop quizzes ring true

 

[mjr]

I respect your view, but the acknowledgement from ACTIVE is quite clear, I am covered for the Dragon RIDE 2021, not a specific distance:

Be fair: you were the one who wrote in the opening post that you transferred your entry, which is specifically excluded by Active. I hope you did not write that to Active at any point.

That acknowledgement strengthens your position a bit IMO because it makes it look like you were covered for entry to the ride, not a particular distance. I'm assuming either the different distances were the same price or that you're seeking a refund only of the lower amount.

I don't know how you can force the matter with them. Start moving towards the small claims court, perhaps? https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/