1800SkyRide / HeadbanD
Reviews and Complaints

Last Christmas (2010) I purchased two skydiving vouchers through LivingSocial. Wanting to add to the fun, I called the skydiving company and stated I wanted to purchase two videos as well. They referred me to 1800SkyRide. Fast forward a year and a half and 4 skydive cancellations later (due to weather, legit horrible weather, but very few dates to reschedule due to over booking) we finally were able to dive this past weekend. We arrived with our skydive and video vouchers only to be informed that Skydive Philadelphia no longer is affiliated with 1800SkyRide and our video vouchers were worthless. Since that point, I have tried numerous occasions (at least 10) to contact 1800SkyRide to try to figure out what I can possibly do with these useless $200 video vouchers. Every time I call, I am on hold for 20 minutes (extreme patience on my part) and then an answering machine picks up and I leave a message. Not even an angry message demanding money back, for all they know I could simply just want to redeem a voucher! The only time I have managed to get someone on the phone is when I press "1" for new customer. Seems like they only have enough staff to cover new customers, those that have not had their money swindled away. The customers who have paid don't seem to be worth their time. I feel extremely slightly and ripped off by this company. They sold me a service that does not exist and they have made it impossible for me to contact them. I've attempted to contact my credit card company but a charge reversal doesn't seem likely as the charge was made 18 months ago (voucher still valid!) and usually disputes must be placed within 60 days. If only I had bothered to research this company at all... I would have seen the plethora of complaints against them and would have stayed away!

Took me for $640. Paid 2 weeks in advance. Less than 4 hours before we were scheduled to jump they called to say that there was a problem with the plane. I later talked to the actual owner/pilot that said there was indeed a problem but that 1800skyride was informed 2 days earlier. If you try to reschedule with less than 72 hours notice, you lose your money; yet they had almost 72 hours in advance and only gave us less than 4 hours notice and refused to refund our money, even knowing that 1 person in our party would be leaving the country and unable to reschedule. I contacted the better business bureau today. Will post the results. Also have plans to contact the attorney general with the state of georgia as they have filed suits against this company in the past.

1800SkyRide is a telemarketing fraud. They sell trips and sporting events that do not exist. The company operates under different names:

1800Skyride
Adventure Skydiving Center
Adventure Sports
Luxergy
IGO Vincent
Spagoda
Tandora
Granter Media
Thrill Planet
Soaring Sports
Hot Air Balloon Team

The address of the company:
2593 Kennesaw Due West Rd Ste 300
Kennesaw, Ga 30144

They refuse to give refunds to customers, there are hundreds of unresolved complaints with BBB. Stay away from this company. When a customer wants a refund because most of the time they were sold something that did not exist or was given false information on locations, they refuse to give it and offer a different activity which again is either a fraud or hundreds of miles away from the client.

I've launched complaints with BBB, FTC, and The Attorney General. If you are reading this because you paid this company money and want it back, send your complaint to the above places as well. I hope we can beat this company if we do it together.

I made a booking through Skyride for a booking and when I reached the drop zone, I was told that these guys are under litigation and hence I was asked to pay separately and get a refund from Skyride.

When i called Skyride for a refund, they only refunded me the skyride amount but charged me $125 fopr services provided!

THIS IS A BIG SCAM! THEY ARE CHEATS

This booking service took my cash and offered a warbird dogfight adventure with two weekends to book scheduled for Cincinnati in the next two years (expiration date). Whenever I try to book I am given a thoroughly professional brush-off and end up with a promise to call me back or put on hold and cut off. Can't speak to a supervisor, won't refund money, want me to drive 800 miles to get my ride at their convenience.

I highly recommend thet you avoid these thieves completely. If you want a warbird ride, go to where the planes are and pay your cash when you get on the plane. Nothing in advance.

I went to 800Skyride and thought i was looked at funny or not right. I am not sure who it was or if they even worked for 1800skyride but it might have been. anyways i went into 1800skyride to take a skydiving adventure that my mother had bought me a year before. Well when i showed up some guy looked at me funny. He may have just been looking at the TV behind me but i thought he looked at me kinda funny. He also never bent me over his knee and spanked me. Thats one of the reasons o booked but i ended up going to burger kind later and ate a good burger and fries. French fries are a scary side item if you ever look it them right., Well i know you know that Wendy's is the best fast food or at least the cleanest you know one time at burger king i found a poop in the urinal i mean how do they do that. I would think you would have to pull your pants down push your butt up against the wall and then try and squeeze one out and make sure nobody walks in on you pushing your butt against the urinal. you couldn't explain your way out of that one.

They took my potato chips. I bought a brand new bag of chips and they opened them and then denied eating them as they ate them in front of my face. I know the bag of chips only cost $5 (it was the good kind) but still how rude. They saw me lay the chips down and next thing i know the fat guy in the back ate the whole darn bag. I cannot believe it happened my wife was even more amazed at the fact they ate the entire bag. i bet they were the best bag of chips ever, or at least the fat guy kept telling me that they were the best he ever had.

I purchased tickets for me and my girlfriend to take a glider ride for $198.15 through a company called 1800SKYRIDE.COM on 1/31/09 over the phone with my bank check-card. I received the tickets in the mail 7 days later, and gave them to her for her birthday. A few days later she (my girlfriend) called them to Schedule our flight, and they claimed they could only redeem it in Los Angeles. So my Girlfriend questioned why is it that their website says they have flights in Sacramento, and even the person I bought the tickets from said the rides were available in Sacramento. They claimed the website I ordered the tickets from was an old website with out dated information. Then they said we could get our flight in San Jose, My Girlfriend said that wouldn’t work, the tickets we bought were for the Sacramento facility that they claimed to have access to. Then they claimed we could do it in Truckee, California. Thinking this was as close as we were going to get to Sacramento, we agreed that Truckee was fine for the flight. The operator then said there was a catch: The Flight facility was closed until May, so we would have to wait until May and a pilot would contact us. In the first week of May we received no phone calls. My girlfriend called 1800SKYRIDE and was transferred to voice mail/hung-up on 3 times. We eventually got through once and were told the person who could help us wasn’t available, so we were put on hold/hung-up on again. On 5/15/09 we research all of the flight facilities in Truckee, and find the only one, “Soar Truckee” and call them, they state they are in fact the only glider facility in Truckee. We asked if they had a contract with 1800SKYRIDE or THRILLPLANET (The company has many names) and they enthusiastically exclaim they do not, nor have they ever had any contract or agreement or any involvement with the company. They in fact only have a contract with a company in Reno, NV. They have heard of them though because people go to their flight facility all of the time expecting to use their tickets for a flight, but when they get to “Soar Truckee” they are hit with the reality that they do not have any knowledge of their reservation. The nice people at “Soar Truckee” even said that frequently people will have driven 6 hours to cash in on their flight, and the company feels so bad that they will sometimes give them a ride for free out of their own pocket. He told us their scam is to delay and prolong the reservation process as long as possible because most banks have a 60 day charge-dispute limit, and then just not provide the services at all. This is exactly what had happened to us. I called my bank and was informed because it was past 60 days I was out my $198.15. So pretending to be a new customer my girlfriend called 1800SKYRIDE that same day in order to not get disconnected again. She gets through to a reservation agent, and my girlfriend tells this person the story, and asks them why the company in Truckee claims they don’t deal with them. My girlfriend also asked why Soar Truckee would say they are a scam. The female agent replied that it is because that very day the glider company stopped their contract with them, and “We are not a scam, scam artists don’t stay in business for 15 years” and then claims we can schedule at another facility, asks us to hold, and hangs up on us again. We call back, and get hung up on multiple times. My girlfriend eventually gets greeted with the operator saying “oh it’s you again, you hung-up on that nice young lady.” So we ask to speak to a manager a bunch of times and the operator says “We cant help you” over and over, and she kept asking to speak to a manager, and he kept saying no, We asked his name, we asked the managers name, he refused to give us any information. My girlfriend says “Well then you need to refund me my money you are not providing the services we paid for” and the operator laughed and said “You don’t get your money back, that’s how it works.” Eventually he said the manager was Joe and agreed to connect us to him. He transferred us to the same female reservation agent as before and my girlfriend asked “I thought you were going to help me?” and the lady laughed and said “I am not going to help you, I said I would find someone to help you” and then we got hung up on again. I have yet to get my money back but I have complained to the media, the BBB in Georgia, consumer affairs and will be contacting the attorney general in California & Georgia! Buyer beware!

I purchased a hot air balloon ride for my parent’s anniversary. I booked the event roughly one month in advance. I was required to pay for the event at the time of booking. As the date I secured approached, I contacted the company and reported that I had not been contacted to coordinate the drop off location and need to get directions. I was told that they had no record of my booking on the date I had secured. I advised that my card had been billed for the event and that it was imperative that it be investigated immediately as I had made arrangements for my parents to drive into Atlanta for an anniversary surprise. I was assured that it would be investigated and I would be contacted back by close of business.

The next business day I called back and reported that I had not been contacted and I wanted to know what the status was of the investigation. I was told by a help desk representative that he did not have a record of my inquiry. I requested that I be put through to a manager. I was told the manager would not be in until after noon. The help desk representative took my information down and claimed he would have the manager contact me. I requested that my case be assigned a number and that someone would look into my claim as the date for my event was in twenty-four hours. The help desk representative reported that he would investigate and call me back with details. Needless to say, I was not contacted back. I called the company back later in the afternoon and spoke with manager. The manager claimed that he was looking into options and reported that he would call me back. When I inquired further, I was told that the original booking was booked for one month later and not the date I had requested. I was then advised that coincidently the weather for the day I booked would not be a good day to fly. I had already considered that and had checked on weather.com and checked fly conditions and conditions were good for flying. When I challenged the claim, I was given an option to drive my parents over three and one half hours to a destination in Alabama. I reported this was unacceptable and that I had paid for an event over a month ago and I expected to get what I had paid for. The manager reported he would investigate and call me back. I was not called back that evening.

The day of my parent’s anniversary I called the business the first thing in the morning. I was told the manager was not in and would not be in until 1:00 PM. I called the manager back promptly at I:00 PM and was told that there was nothing that could be done, my parents would not be going on a balloon ride that day. He claimed that they would be put on a first available list for future rides. I told him I would spoke with my parents and call him back with a decision. I called him later that day after telling my parents about the surprise. I instructed him that my mother had decided on the weekend of April 30th and that I wanted to book that date. I instructed that I wanted a confirmation email in my inbox by close of business that day. Needless to say, no confirmation email.

I called as the day approached and instructed that I had not received an email, no details of the event and that this was a rebooking of a date that was supposed to take place over a month ago. I was once again told I would be contacted with details. I called back the following day and was treated as if the company had no information concerning the upcoming event. I was told another help desk representative was working on my claim and that I would be contacted back because he was “anal retentive” and would not let it go to the waste side. It’s under a week to go to the event and I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED.

I am so completely exasperated by this entire experience and the unprofessionally of this company that I have booked through another company. I have never experienced this type of customer service in all my life. I have managed several retail chains and am project manager for an IT corporation and understand the importance of good customer service and follow through. I would never recommend this company to anyone for any type of event.

I have documented every conversation, length of calls and details and can provide specific details. I am considering reporting this company to the better business bureau. I encourage anyone when looking to book a special event to NOT use this company. I am very disappointed with the outcome and have spent a great deal of time and money on this issue. Save yourself from a potential disaster and book through another company – make sure to find out if they are affiliated with the parent company.

I picked this company because it claimed that it was #1 in customer service, I disagree. I get better customer service at the Georgia Tag renewal office and that’s saying something!

Still fighting with 1800skyride through the BBB. These people have a history of NOT answering phones so they don't have to give you what you pay for. THe only time they answer is if you get the BBB involved and AFTER the expiration date of your certificate. My certificate was good for 2 years. In 2 years, I tried every month to book a jump. THese managers and customer service agents change more than folks do their underwear. Of course I gave them names, etc... I did go to one particular jump site ONCE... I couldn't jump due to overcast weather. Do you know that jump site redeemed my certificate. A mistake that 1800skyride had to track down and correct. THe correction took them more than 2 months..taking it over my expiration date. However, I was told it was OK because it was not my fault. Well that was then... see, that person no longer works there of course. That person was named JOhn Dalton. He isn't there anymore so the new people act as if they see not a single note on my purchase. The controller is said to have the final say. SHE is another story. The last conversation took place just yesterday on November 25, 2008. They will STUFF the policy down your throat but ignored their role in the expiration process. A series of unanswered calls and seeming lies leaves me without a jump or money back. I say, FIND ANOTHER COMPANY to get you your extreme sports! I am still fighting it.

After reading the litigation of the hundreds of people that "Thrill Planet" AKA 1800Skyride has scammed, I find it unbelievable that they are still in business. I have reported my incident to the BBB of Georgia and also the FTC, as well as reporting fraudulent charges to my credit card company. I purchased two hot air balloon tickets from this company. The tickets had no phone numbers, addresses, or names for the actual air balloon company that was providing the service. When we made our reservation MONTHS ago, we were assured we were all set. However, the provider of the service NEVER HEARD OF US and refused to honor our tickets. Big Surprise? It shouldn't have been. They have been allowed to scam hundreds of people and all of their employees in their "customer service" department just play along and pretend that someone will get back to you. I've got documented phone calls to Chris, Terrance, Monica, and Michael (supposedly their manager) who never returned ONE phone call after at least a dozen calls to them. Someone needs to step in and slap them with criminal charges, or this company will continue to lie/cheat/steal from other unsuspecting clients. And, the poor decent guy out there who really offers a reliable service will never be trusted because of SLIMEBALLS like this that get away with it!

SCAM! SCAM! wow, amazing that everyone on this site has had a similar horrible experience with this company. how does company continue to exist? this is a true scam, the company never calls back, readily takes your money back and when you call about issues, they put you on hold, transfer you everywhere and give you no answers, meanwhile, you are out money... my issue is now 18 months old! no refund... just today, i called again, and now they give me this number [protected] = this is their customer service... company should be made to pay for all the inconveniences caused and the money that they never refunded... DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY...

I saved for a round a year to give my grand children a gift that there gradnpa really wanted them to have. I made him a promish that I woudl make sure they got there ride. He didnt live long enough to see it happen. And iam so glad that he didnt see the mess I got into with this outfit. They took my money but I couldnt get the rides from any one with there certificate. Once you tell the place you have threr certificate they wont take them. So what happend was I had to take out a quick loan to pay again because we were all together. At place thatwas booked for us until I showed the cards. What was I to do. We were there I barrowed money. I call and asked for a refund and they said never do they give a refund. God help them when they hit 68 live on a limited income but want to fill a promish. How do they sleep at night. I cant worring how I am to live till I pay this back. I have to pretend that every thing is all right because I dont want my family to think I am at that point i9n life to be watchedover. Thank for reading this. Be carefull who you do business with.

This company consists of nothing but CROOKS! Almost two years ago, I bought my dad a $350 hot air balloon ride as a Christmas gift. I was more excited to give it to him than anything in the world...Since that day, we have schedule appointment after appointment after appointment with SkyRide. Not a single time has a reservation actually been made on their end. 99% of the time you cannot even reach anyone at their main number. If you call the customer service number, they have no record of your reservation - just conveniently of your payment. They have not once returned any call and there is currently no supervisor, CEO, higher authority whatsoever that exists, according to the customer service reps. This place is an absolute trap. Upon scheduling the dates/times (after several attempts to reach a human being), we were told the reservation was made. After calling the flight location, they have no record at all of our reservation. Call SkyRide back... no record of anything! Shocker. Best part is - you demand a refund and their response is "that is not part of our terms and conditions". My response: "how many of your customers ACTUALLY FLY or redeem their gifts/purchases?" This place makes me so mad I can't even see straight. A gift dear to me to my father ended up being unused, non-refundable under any circumstances, and an absolute scam. I am convinced this company provides absolutely no service other than collecting your money. I will be sure to file a complaint with BBB. If nothing else, it will add more ammunition for us all to do something about 1800ScamRide and prevent anyone else from going through the same misfortune.

I purchased one glider plane ride for $200. last Sept. 10, 2007. I received a card stating it expires Sept. 10, 2009. I have been trying to set it up for June 17th. I have called and always left detailed messages a total of 7 times plus one email. Nobody has returned my calls. My next complaint will be filed with the B.B.B

Please let me know if there is something else I can do.dc94

I am a disgruntled customer of 1800 Sky Ride, but the complaint from the former employee helped me in ways even my bank and the Better Business Bureau could not. By taking matters into my own hands. I called the cell phone numbers of each owner mentioned in his email, and surely, I was refunded my full fee of 404.30 in a check that arrived to me within 7-10 business days. There is hope still!

~1-800 SkyRide Refund Survivor.

This past Christmas, my girlfriend and I wanted to do something a little bit different from others we have had together. We wanted to buy something together that we would both remember forever. Then, we saw a commercial for skydiving. We decided that this was what we wanted to do (MISTAKE #1). Needless to say, we will remember the experience forever; however it is for all the wrong reasons.

When ordering our tickets, we were asked where we lived. I told them New Orleans, and the person seemed genuinely excited and said, "Alright, there are several jump sites in your area!" We were originally scheduled to jump in an area about an hour away from my home (which I thought was a little bit further than "near"). We tried to schedule the jump 6 times. Each time we were told that the weather was too bad and that they needed "optimal conditions." Only one of these times was it actually raining. The other times were either "too cloudy" or "too windy." The weather seemed fine to me, but I assumed that they knew what they were talking about (MISTAKE #2). Eventually, we had to return to school. The next summer, we tried once again to schedule a time to jump. This time, they again asked where we lived. I found this strange since I had already told them this. I figured that they had some sort of system that helped them keep track of things like that (MISTAKE #3). Again, I told them New Orleans. This time, they said, "I'm sorry, there aren't really any place to jump near you. The closest place we can put you is in LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS!" Needless to say I had to hold my tongue. I had just spent nearly $500 on these two gift certificates (which I never received tangible copies of). I asked if there was any way that I could get my money back, and they told me that the tickets are non-refundable. I replied, "Your company told me that there was some place near my home where I could jump (this was before I gave them my credit card #)." They told me that I had to "Apply for a refund" and that they would let me know if I have been qualified within 14 business days. I have filled out several applications for school and work over the course of my life, but prior to this, I have never had to apply for a refund. After this, I tried to call back to see if I could speak to someone who could grant me my refund because I assumed that there was some miscommunication as to where I would be jumping (MISTAKE #4). After being put on hold for 20 minutes, I got in touch with a representative who transferred me to a voicemail. I left a message and waited two days. No call back. I called again and got a voicemail. I called a third time and asked to speak with the highest ranking person who is actually in the office. I spoke with a woman who seemed frustrated with my insistence that I speak with someone who has the authority to refund my money. She said she would try to transfer me to someone that could help. I said, "Please don't transfer me to a voicemail." She sighed angrily and said, "Alright." Then she transfered me to the same voicemail that I had left two messages on. I called back again to ask what had happened I hoped that this was a mistake (MISTAKE #5). I asked to be transfered to the same woman. I overheard the two people in the background, "It's Mr. Collins again." The woman replied, "Give me the phone." When I was on the phone with her, she said with a very annoyed tone, "Sir! You have to apply for a refund. Then you have to wait 14 days. Then you MIGHT get a refund, OKAY!?" I was stunned by the amount of attitude that she had in her voice. I don't like being pushed around. I told her that if I don't receive a refund I will take them to small claims court for Fraud of Inducement, which means that a company misrepresents a product or any aspect of that product, either by fraud or omission, that induces the other party (me) into making that purchase. This is exactly what happened. While I was telling her this, she began acting like she couldn't hear me, "What... Wha... I can't hear you... I'm so sorry Mr. Collins, your breaking up..." Then she hung up on me. I called one more time and asked to speak to the manager. Again, I overheard their conversation on the other end. "It's Mr. Collins again." "Give me the phone!" Click. She hung up on me again without even speaking to me. Since then, I have not received any calls back from the company about my refund (3.5 weeks later). I plan to take legal action against this company, however it will be a pain in my ### because they are located in Kennesaw, GA. When I found this address, I also found several articles like this one, which has again diminished my hope of ever seeing my $500 again. The conduct of this company, both professionally and personally, has made me sick to my stomach. I have never been treated this poorly by any organization that calls themself a "business." I have been unhappy with other products and have made complaints, but at least the customer service representatives were polite to me and I remained polite to them. In these situations, more often than not, some sort of agreement could be reached. However, I do not feel that there will ever be any sort of agreement reached between Skyride and myself. This has taught me and my girlfriend a valuable lesson (but obviously not worth $500). BUYER BEWARE! There are a lot of scam artists out there. I happened to come across the Picasso of them all. The people at Skyride are VERY good at what they do... unfortunately for me that is not scheduling skydiving, they sell headaches and make money disappear. In case I haven't made myself clear in this longwinded rant: DO NOT EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS FRAUDULENT COMPANY!

If it is too late and you are only reading this after you have discovered that you bought a fake "adventure." I'm sorry that this happened to you also. I would love to hear about what happened to you so that we may be able to work together in toppling this tremendous tower of bul***it.

This company runs websites claiming to be in every metropolitan city in America and the are now adding websites that even claim to be located at the more rural areas and towns. If another skydive center or "Adventure" type sports venues builds a website, within a very few days, 1800 skyride will pop up with a new website claiming to be in either the same location as the company who's website they have cloned or they will be advertising to be within a very shot distance of the legitimate company. They sell fraudulent gift certificates for Skydive Centers that don't exist. For example, The real "Bowling Green Skydiving Center" who's website is spelled the same is located at the Russellville/Logan Co. Airport, located about 20 minutes south of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The 1800skyride website is "Skydiving Bowling Green" in which they will not tell a perspective customer where they are located until after they have charged your credit card a $50 cancellation fee and a $50 bad weather insurance fee. They then tell the customer that they are located in Cedartown, Ga. That's a five hour ride from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

They are doing these same advertising tactics all over the country in every state in America including Alaska. They also have websites that claim to be a skydive center that serves a whole state, ie; "Tennessee Skydiving Center", "Kentucky Skydiving Center", "Skydive Ohio" and even "Skydive Utah"
The best advise I can give is to be sure where a Skydive Center is located before you spend any money. If they will not tell you without first asking where you are located, you are probably talking to 1800Slyride.

Any reputable Skydive Center will either have the location with directions on their home page, or they will at least have a "Button" or link that will take you to a page that has the location and directions to their Skydive Center.

Buyer be very aware!

In my opinion - yes, they are a scam. Their business practices are, at best, unethical and most often illegal. Every customer, vendor and employee has established that.

It is hard to prove it because everyone scammed by them has a difficult time documenting times, dates and names of their transactions and/or conversations. Employees past and present are more interested in taking care of their own needs than focusing on documentation. They also make a habit of hiring desperate, young, and/or uneducated employees. Average pay is somewhere around $9/hr. There is not just one or two disgruntled former employees. I would bet that each and every former employee is disgruntled, disgusted, and happier since they left. My estimate for those is hundreds as the turn over is immense for the size of the company. I would also bet that you will be hard pressed to find a single current employee who loves their job other than Yvonne, Richard, and Cary, or course.

Most of the vendors live hand to mouth and need any and all money they can get, especially since thrill sports and business savvy-ness are anonymous. They are often easy prey.

1800SkyRide, USSO, Granter Media, IGO Vincent, or whatever the latest incarnation is, is the sleaziest and most selfish companies that I have ever worked for. It is corrupt to the core and the there is no one to blame but those who make decisions such as Yvonne, Richard, and Cary. When money is the only focus, this kind of thing, with all of your complaints, is the only possible outcome. There is no way for them to stay in business for many years. There are too many errors along the way and there are too many people who are burned by them. As the disgruntled numbers mount, there will continue to be fewer options for them. Make no mistake; they are in the business of making quick money for themselves at the expense anyone who is in contact with them. The only service they are providing is that of taking.

Now, it is time for everyone to focus their efforts into seeing the legal demise of the organization. As it has habitually been the same case from the beginning of the organization and up to today, they are not going to have a miraculous change of heart or start doing things correctly and ethically because the Bureau of Consumer Affairs and others cracks down on them. They are akin to a career criminal who continually promises to straighten up and be a productive member of society if given one more chance. I think it is clear that everyone burned by their greed is fed up and have begun to unite. What would anyone expect from a stripper, a drug dealer, and a thief?

The solution is to unite, talk, post more comments (because more and more people are reading and getting involved), contact government officials, spread the word, and never purchase anything without doing a little research. Any other suggestions?