Go Ape refusing refund

I think you are putting too much into your emails to them, and I can't see anywhere if you've been clear to them about what you want.

The core of the issue is you got 47min on the course instead of 60min guaranteed, and therefore you want a 25% refund for the experience you paid for but did not get.

If they insist on a voucher, then ask for 50% discount. Keep it brief.

Obviously it is good that you raise your concerns about how they address hidden disabilities etc, but it kind of muddle the water a little bit in terms of what you want from them.
You could also look for contact of head office to escalate your complaint, or try X / trustpilot / Facebook. I found that some companies escalate automatically when feedback is left on Social Media.

@crazygoatlady is totally correct.

@Stripyseason , the reason people think you are confusing is you haven't acknowledged that it took, on average, over 15 minutes on each course. If you did course 3, you would have been over time, as you weren't ready to start until 47 minutes in.

Is it your view that even if it took you to 1 hour and ten minutes, for example, so over the hour slot promised, you should have had all four because that's what the man said?

So you’ve now got the minimum wage staff in trouble OP, well good for you, all you need to do is keep on hounding them for your full refund, I presume you’ve never worked in customer services, customers like you are just awful, you see your target and keep gunning for them, changing your story, hounding, railroading through people until you leave a pile of people in trouble, triumphant with your refund and the fact they backed down after doing no wrong, but it’s ok, you won!

As a parent of autistic children, I know that it's also my responsibility to know my kids and set correct expectations

Exactly @CrazyGoatLady . Autism is such a wide and diverse condition. A place saying they are autism aware doesn't mean they can possibly know your particular child and how best to explain things to them.

I would expect an autism aware activity to be sensitive to meltdowns/swimming etc not to have to take over every element of parenting.

However, reading op's posts I wonder if she is also autistic hence her struggles to comprehend the variations in an activity like this.

Also not "Mama Bear" (vom) more like entitled parent!

I think the problem us that you can't do half a loop, so if you aren't going to be able to complete a loop, you can't start it.

OP you are being unreasonable!

These things happen!

A discount is fine.

Why should they refund the whole thing , when you did three levels.

I don't think OP is a troll and not genuine. As @HollyKnight said, they took longer to complete the course than average expectations and couldn't finish it before closing time, and she is disappointed because of that, she seems to believe they should have given her family as much time as they needed to do all 4 courses, even if it interfered with them closing up.

I don't think she is faking this, but I do think she's grifting demanding a whole ass refund. 25% would be fair, as they did 3/4 courses and it seems Go Ape have accepted they didn't communicate as well as they could have done. Perhaps they didn't realise the implications of telling an autistic child (with the best of intentions to encourage him) they'd be able to do all 4 courses in the time when they didn't know if he would actually be able to. That's a point they could improve on and they have apologised to OP.

As a parent of autistic children, I know that it's also my responsibility to know my kids and set correct expectations. I would have been stepping in there and saying "let's see how you feel when we're on the course and how long it takes, the most important thing is we take our time and be safe". I read the T's and C's of any activity we went to do when they were younger like a hawk, and clarified anything that isn't crystal clear before we set foot in there. Go Ape's literature is very clear they don't guarantee you can do the full course if you are slower. And there is no way in hell I'd have taken my two to the last slot of the day before closing time. OP also made things worse by contradicting the instructors after they said they wouldn't have time to do both courses 3 and 4 - she then decided to see if they could hurry course 4 and go back and do 3, which they were already told they couldn't. She contributed to that situation, escalated it and made it more confusing and upsetting for her kid, instead of managing the disappointment when they were told there wouldn't be enough time to do them all before they closed. If she had done that, left after 3 courses and then complained that they didn't set expectations properly, I'd have more sympathy, but she made things worse and is blaming them for their bad experience when that was partly caused by her own poor reaction and management of the situation.

Bottom line, I don't leave managing my child's expectations to strangers who have done a 10 minute safety briefing and then demand a refund because they didn't do it right. They don't know my kid, they're not autism experts and nor should they have to be on minimum wage.

As someone who runs a business based in an activity for children, your greed sickens me. As attached, the deal is an hour in the trees.You had more than that, and a free voucher is more than that! Your problem seems to be that you don't want to pay.

Omg the people who move at the pace of a snail at Go Ape are sooooo annoying! It completely ruins the experience for the people stuck behind. We ended up leaving early when we went because the family in front were just so slow and as a result we wouldn't have had time to complete the 4 levels. 2 or 3 levels are plenty to have a good experience.

Yes. But what do you think would have happened if they started the last course after 47 mins? They would have ran over the 1 hr and kept all the staff back from shutting the place down. They wouldn't be able to pull OP and children off the course after they started it, hence why they couldn't start it.

She had the correct information. She misunderstood it. She thought they had up to 2 hours to do everything and that it is possible to do all 4 courses (in an hour, which it was if you pace yourself properly). The OP and children were either slow or just taking their time because they assumed they had until 18:30 to complete the 4 courses. After they finished the first 2 courses, the staff told her they were running over time so wouldn't have enough time to complete the other 2 courses. They advised her to do course 4. She then chose to rush through course 4 so they could then try to do course 3, even though she was told that wasn't going to be possible in the time left. They could have spent those last 13 minutes enjoying course 4 if the OP wasn't so fixated on the 2hr/18:30 finish thing.

What time was written on your wristband? And what time did you finish your last lap?

We had to come down after about 40 mins due to high winds, and they gave us a full refund, which I thought was more than fair, I was expecting a voucher for another go or a partial refund.

That's should read when GoApe said she was on the course for 47 mins

I agree her posts are confusing but She cut and pasted the reply from GoApe where they said she was on the course for 47mins so I'm taking that as she was on the course for 47 mins 🤷🏻‍♀️. If you think she is a troll and making stuff up why are you bothering arguing about what she is saying? Why are you bothering to post surely you think it's a waste of your time.

It was 90 a few updates ago. I don’t see OP as reliable narrator in this.

It doesn't confirm anything. Have you read it? The OP typing something doesn't mean it's the truth.

@frannygallops The OP paid for an hour in the trees. The email from Go Ape confirm that she was only in the trees for 47 minutes so she clearly didn't receive what she paid for. Go Ape didn't fulfill their side of the contract.
I think the OP should try getting her money back either by section 75 if she paid by credit card or a chargeback if she paid by debit card.

Services were received. From anywhere between 90-40 minutes as the OP keeps changing her story

How have they gone from 90mins on course to 47mins?

OP you’ve been terribly unclear not only on this thread but in the emails you’ve copied and pasted. I’m still inclined not to believe you. You sound entitled and grabby and I don’t think you deserve a full refund. Take the discount or don’t.

if you paid by credit card, you are entitled to make a chargeback claim for services not received, if you did then speak to the credit card company who will be able to advise further.

If the OP hadn't been given the correct information they could have taken their time with the third course they did and enjoyed it. They only raced through it because they were told to hurry up and because they had been told they would be able to do all four courses.

If the OP had correctly been reminded that she had an hour and could either try and race and do all four courses or take her time and do three courses then she would not be complaining.

She is complaining for three reasons firstly because she only ended up with 47 minutes on the course, secondly because she was given incorrect information and thirdly because the staff rushed her and her kids.

God is it worth all this stress. It will all.be spoilt now if you go back anyway, whose to say another problem won't arise.
Walk away, disconnect, don't ever go there again.
It's too.much stress it's not worth it.

But if it took 47 mins to do 3 courses (even with rushing the third one) there wasn't going to be enough time to do a fourth course. You were told that at the time. You should have taken your time doing the last one and enjoyed it instead of rushing through it. Just because they say all 4 courses can be done in an hour doesn't mean everyone will be able to do them in an hour.