Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Christy O'Brien & Jake Brigstock

Birthday treat 'disaster' at Thorpe Park as man ends up not being able to get on any rides

After he ended up not being able to get on a single ride during a birthday treat at Thorpe Park, a man has demanded the theme park give him a refund. As part of a birthday gift from his wife, Palli Singh, 36, was taken to the resort on July 14 but was left frustrated as every time he got close to getting on a ride it would suddenly break down.

Mr Singh, who lives in Wraysbury, spent £81 on an entry ticket and all-day parking, arriving at 9.30am ahead of the park opening at 10am. After making their way through the entrance, they experienced their first disappointment of the day as they were told in the Nemesis Inferno queue the ride had broken down and were not told when it would resume, reports Surrey Live.

Undeterred he moved on to the Detonator and the Walking Dead ride but the same problem happened yet again while waiting to get on. After the pair purchased fast track tickets for £16 their ride broke down once more and Mr Singh had decided he had enough by 2pm.

READ MORE: Arnold town centre could get £50m funding boost if council bid is successful

After walking up to the customer service queue and explaining his issue he was offered tickets for another day but was left unhappy. Instead, he has demanded the theme park give him a refund and has vowed not to go back. But Thorpe Park insists there was a ride availability of more than 94% on the day and its terms and conditions state that the resort is unable to refund tickets.

Mr Singh said: "I said 'listen, I've had enough, this is rubbish. It's not how I want to spend my birthday.'

"It was a very hot day as well so we were hot and bothered. I said there was no way I wanted to head back again, I'm 36-years-old now and don't want to be lining up for that time.

"They gave me the email of the senior member and I've been emailing him back and forth. I've had to email him four times and in the end, I'm still not happy because I don’t want to set foot in there, I want my money back.

"The park closes at 6pm, if I had carried on lining up god knows if I'd even get on a ride. I'm not asking to be compensated for my day, I just want what I spent to be paid back. That's all I want."

In response to Mr Singh's complaints, Thorpe Park pointed to its high ride availability figures throughout July 14 and said some rides only stopped for just eight minutes at a time. They also said their terms and conditions state they are unable to refund tickets.

A spokesperson said: "Naturally, we are disappointed to learn when any guest's experience has not lived up to their expectations. Our reports for the same day as Mr Singh’s visit shows that we had ride availability of over 94 percent for the resort and our guest feedback shows that 80 percent of guests who visited us the same day as Mr Singh were either very satisfied or satisfied with their overall experience."

"We have already offered Mr Singh an upweighted recovery package, which can be redeemed at other attractions. We hope we can come to a resolution that allows us to provide Mr Singh the magical day out we aspire to deliver. Correspondence with the guest is still open."

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.