To Refund or Not To Refund...

 

The answer to this question is a very complex one. Events differ dramatically in their refund policies and there seems to be no standard industry practice when it comes to refunds. South Africa’s Consumer Protection Act should be the guide, but this doesn’t seem to be the case for a lot of events.

Section 17 of the CPA states that consumers have "the right to cancel advance reservations, bookings, or orders" for goods or services and to receive a refund. The CPA states that event organisers may charge a reasonable cancellation fee which should consider factors like:

• The nature of the event

• The time between cancellation and the event date

• The likelihood of reselling the entry

• Industry practices

However, if the cancellation is due to death or hospitalization of the participant, the CPA says that no cancellation fee may be charged.

Some of the bigger and more popular events in South Africa fly close to the sun when it comes to the CPA. In some cases they will only issue a refund if the entrant finds a substitution for their entry, or they won’t issue a refund at all. There are clauses in some terms and conditions about their refund policy which an entrant has to agree to before entering the event. However, this policy is only enforceable if it complies with the CPA. If it does not comply the entrant would be well within their rights to lay a complaint with the National Consumer Commission.

When it comes to refunds, the better event organisers generally will consider the bigger picture. They need to be mindful of preserving the goodwill and reputation of the event, as well as the sponsors, by at least giving their entrants other alternatives if refunding them is not an option.

Some of the alternatives could be:

• Allowing participants to carry their entry forward to next year’s event;

• Allowing them to pick up their race t-shirt (if there is one) and race pack that in some cases will be equal to the cost of the race entry;

• To let them find a substitute, so the cost of the entry is covered; and

• Giving them a partial refund, the percentage of which depends on how far out from race day the cancellationis requested.

However if the event organizer cancels the event, the entrant is entitled to a full refund according to the CPA. But there are limited circumstances where a full refund may not be legally required, or where a partial refund or credit may be considered fair and lawful. These include:

1. Force Majeure or Act of God

A Force Majeure or Act of God is when event organisers are forced to cancel their event due to unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances, such as natural disasters, war, pandemics or government-imposed restrictions. In this case the event organizers may be legally protected from providing a full refund, but only if they have specified clearly in their terms and conditions that this would be a no-full-refund scenario.

For example if a cycle race is cancelled due to flooding, the event organizer may retain part of the fees as long as the entry form’s terms and conditions include a force majeure clause.

2. Clear Terms and Conditions

If the event’s terms and conditions state clearly that entry fees are non-refundable in case of cancellation, particularly for reasons outside of the organiser’s control, and the participant agreed to those terms, a full refund might not be required providing the clause is CPA-complaint. The terms however need to be fair or they can be challenged under the CPA.

For example if event organisers have to cancel because the venue is shut down due to bankruptcy, as long as it no fault of the organiser and had incurred costs, they would in most likelihood be able to issue partial refunds.

3. Partial Refunds or Substitutions Offered

If substantial costs have already been incurred, event organisers may offer partial refunds, deferrals or entry transfers to future events instead of a full cash refund, as long as their offer meets the CPA standard.

For example, if it is a couple of days before the event and beverages, food, race shirts etc have been delivered and paid for and can’t be returned.

4. Participant Misconduct or Disqualification

If a participant is disqualified, withdraws voluntarily, or fails to comply with entry requirements, the organizer is typically not required to refund the entry fee.

For example, if the participant has not provided health clearance or waivers when required, or any way does not comply with the race rules.

So the key principle under the CPA is that organizes must act fairly and reasonably, and any fees retained must be proportional to actual losses. If an event is cancelled entirely and no value is delivered, a full refund is generally expected, unless otherwise justifiable. On the other hand, if an entrant cancels their entry, the organisers have to issue a refund but are within their rights to charge a cancellation fee, the amount being dependent on various factors.

What do you need help with as an event organiser? If there is an area of organising you would like to know more about, send a mail to tim@finishtime.co.za and we will see if we can find some info for you.

Words To Live By ...

“Behind every seamless event

is someone who sweated every detail”

–Anonymous

What FinishTime does for Comrades,

they can also do for you

Comrades is only about a month away, and with up to 24 000 entrants spread over 90km for 12 hours, is one of the biggest and most important events that FinishTime handles during the year. We will have a team of about 60 staff members managing a wide range of functions, from time keeping and data management to a host of other services.

FinishTime's planning and implementation for Comrades starts months before race day, and ends long after the last runner has crossed the line. Monitoring the timing with multiple timing points along the 89km route, all on public roads that can only be accessed the night before the event, is a complex logistical problem for the team to solve.

In case you are in any doubt what FinishTime can do for your race, the following is a very brief overview of what we do for the Comrades Marathon. On 8th June (and before and after), some of FinishTime’s responsibilities include:

Race Timing:
Co-ordinate start times
Monitor timing check points
Monitor cut-off times
Medal hand out
Seeding
Batching
Timing chip programming
Live results
Results and prize giving sign off

Data management:
On-line entries
Athlete profiles and history
Medical questionnaire

Other Services:
Maintain and monitor the Comrades App
Video monitoring
Syncing all race clocks
Number printing and assigning
Registration process on mobile phones
Number collection
Proxy number collection

"Race the Robots!"

If you’re looking for an innovative way to spice up your event, you could try what organisers of a half marathon in China decided to do. According to The Guardian, the event organisers of the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing allowed twenty-one humanoid robots to race alongside thousands of runners. This was the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21km course.

The robots, who came in various shapes and sizes, were provided by Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race, and one company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. In an effort to “blend in”, a few of the robots wore running shoes, with one wearing boxing glove (we are still not sure how that helped in a running event) and another wore a red headband with the words “Bound to Win”.

Beijing officials described the event as more like motor racing, given the need for engineering and navigation teams. The robots were accompanied by human trainers, some of whom had to physically support the machine during the race. Unfortunately some robots struggled from the beginning and one fell at the starting line and lay flat for a few minutes before getting up and running off. Another crashed into a railing after running a few metres and knocked over its human operator.

The winning robot finished in a time of 2hr 40min, beating a lot of human runners, but still 1hr 38min behind the men’s winner. The proud designer, said the robot’s outstanding performance was aided by its long legs and an algorithm allowing it to imitate how humans run a marathon. He did, however, sheepishly admit that the robot’s batteries needed to be changed three times during the race – think I can get a battery change for my next 21 when I find gels are just not doing the trick?
 

Do you have an unusual, wild, whacky or funny story about event organising? If so, send it to tim@finishtime.co.za (max 300 words please).