“I was looking forward for my favourite car experience as I paid extra £40 for it but it turned out to be a total nightmare! As you arrive on site they charge you for parking, then a very long queue meanwhile some of staff trying to sell you insurance, until I get to their desk and told that the car has mechanical issue and cannot be driven. They offered no alternative and was told to re-book it but my voucher would pass it’s expiry date so my loss was cost of the expensive voucher plus £40 extra for the car I wanted to drive. It’s absolutely shocking that there is no compensation and they take no responsibility! I have never seen such a lack of care and customer satisfaction anywhere and staff couldn’t even careless! How could they operate as a business in such a fashion is beyond me and I guess with huge number of people who are willing to put up with this only to get their hands on their favourite car, could be the only reason to continue their business. But for me never again!”
“Awful experience from start to finish. Staff are only interested in getting more money out of you, then rush you through, making no effort to provide a good experience.
The number of cars on the track made it impossible to drive at speed and was just like being in a huge line of traffic.
Never again.”
“This would be zero stars if it was possible.
(Summary / tl;dr version: failed to provide experience, cancelling on several people after keeping them waiting for 3 hours, offered no recompense for lost travel money, ruined my blind fathers 80th birthday gift and were poor communicators who only refunded the payment when the company overseeing the experience got involved)
Full version:
Drive cancelled 3 hours after start of event in a manner that showed a total lack of true empathy for ruining my blind dad’s 80th birthday present from us. It is devastating to be turned away from such an event. We had travelled 200 miles to the experience (a 400 mile round trip in total). About 10 or 15 families suffered the same treatment at this event.
Poor communication followed at every front after that. CCH required attendees to make contact for recompense - rather than just refunding people as a matter of course (they had all our details to be able to do this). However, they hadn’t bothered to put maternity cover on for the Ablenet Account and so had no one available to speak to when we rang the number we’d been told to. They took a week to call and then swiftly stopped responding to emails / never called back despite having promised to do so on more than one occasion… showing how much Ablenet customers are valued by them – i.e. not at all.
There was continued failure to refund payment for the event / offer recompense for travel. Ablenet simply passed us onto CCH who never once offered to refund the money for an event they hadn’t provided.
Finally we managed to get a refund but ONLY by going through Track Days – who were absolutely great. With Track Days involved, CCH refunded the money within 2 working days.
So, CCH treated a pensioner terribly and didn’t care enough about it to communicate properly and, whilst the experience days are wonderful (if still chaotic) when they work properly, I would never book with them again, as it just causes too much heartache and unnecessary work. I would strongly recommend you avoid them.
If you want a blind driving experience, with more time spent behind the wheel, where you are not treated as a mere commodity, use ‘Driving Ambition, Brackley’ instead. No supercars, but an amazing day.”
“My son was booked to be passenger in a police car and was really looking forward to it. However when we returned from our holiday we out in the SD card we had paid £40 for but it came up that the card had an error and needed formatting so basically we have paid for a blank card , really not happy . no photos or video of what should have been a great day. We are all very disappointed”
“The worst experience I have ever encountered. I do not recommend anyone to book this. You will be waiting hours to drive the actual cars, poorly organised, all of the staff was extremely rude, there is no seating or shelter when you arrive. Charge you £2 for parking which is absurd. They also try and scam you out of £80 for not returning a lanyard & SD card. They didn’t tell us or anyone about this rule just left a small card with it written on it. A terrible experience.”
“What an absolute scam! Paid for Son to have an activity supercar experience for £59. When got there the pressure sales was so bad, an extra £29 insurance, £10 to show how car works, £50 to drive a half decent car and thr cheek of charging £2 to park. 1 hour waiting after timed slot for a 5 min 2 lap experience. BUT! You can pay more for extra laps!!! There must be better, cheaper alternatives than this. So £59 turn into £150.”
“I purchased a driving experience for my 15 year old son. On arrival we were charged a parking fee to park in a field. Entered a very busy air craft hanger, with no seating. Had to queue for a long time to sign in, they then tried to con us into buying extra insurance. Waited for ages. Had a 5 minute ride in a car, supervised by a very unenthusiastic employee. Would not recommend.”
“Brought as a birthday gift. Cars booked were not available!! Then had to pay £30 insurance ( which was optional) if you never had the insurance and anything happened to the car it could cost up to £5000 scare tactics!! To everyone that goes DONT buy insurance total con !!!
There is no way you could crash one of their cars. It was all very disorganised.
Would never do it again. !!!
Also cars are very dated. With the money they charge they could afford new ones.”
“Avoid avoid avoid! Abingdon
The experience, a birthday treat for an excited 16 year old which turned into a day of mammoth disappointment.
In researching the event we anticipated waiting around, as stated on the website "Please allow up to 3 hours at the venue fram your session start time" what we did not anticipate is waiting 5 hours without any indication, communication, or apologies for delays.
On 3 occasions I voiced my concerns with the teams onsite asking for updates only to be met with shrugs and vague answers.
I appreciate you have no control over the stormy weather. However, if it was a task too huge for the organisers to control in such weather conditions, the event should have been postponed or better communication voiced.
The lack of expertise of the inexperienced junior assigned to organising the timings , and lack of social skills need to be addressed.
A drive which lasted less than 10 minutes is not worth the hype (I have video timings of departure and return) The alleged "high speed passenger drive" which was included in our booking wasn't even mentioned and by then my son was so deflated all he wanted to do was leave.
We then queued hoping the day would be a little salvaged to purchase the videos, only to be informed there wasn't any.
After much fiddling, they couldn’t locate any pictures either. By 6pm we left dispirited.
The day was a major let down. I appreciate some individuals have a marvellous time. But ours was a day full of negativity and judging by observation, we were not the only ones.
I shall not be promoting Car Chase Heros in a positive light amongst, family, friends or social media.”
“If I could it would be a zero rating. So angry with the whole experience. After a 2 hour journey to Abingdon, had to pay £2 for parking apparently to help with the up keep. Had to queue for 20 minutes in horrible weather to book in. Then was told to pay £29 for insurance or leave bank details to cover £5k even if an accident wasn't your fault. Was told to scan the QR code on the card provided, don't have a mobile phone so had to have a staff member to sort this out which meant another 15 minute wait after which was told there would be a at least an hour and a half wait. The weather was horrendous and there was only one area that had a cover for people to stand under. Waited under cover for just under the hour and a half before going back to the car waiting area. The staff were calling out the names on equipment which wasn't fit for purpose and I almost missed my name being called as you couldn't work out what was being said. You are given a memory card for a video to be taken whilst you drive around. Drove first car but the camera wasn't working. Found that I had been called for my 2nd car as I was finishing the last lap. Did get to drive the second car and then waited for the 3rd car. By this time we were cold, drenched and totally fed up. Was then told we could rebook the 3rd car and my wife's car drive experience by going back to where we first booked in. By this time we had been there for 3 and a half hours to be told that my name was about to be called but my wife had at least another 90 minutes to wait. Went back over to the car area and waited again. Not called so asked what was going on to which I was informed that the car had been pulled because of the weather conditions. Apparently an announcement had been made which turns out was when I was driving the 2nd car so how was I supposed to have known this. Back we go to rebook where the member of staff checked with a manager and said the car had been pulled just then. What a lie. Was offord another car to drive which I declined as wanted to drive the car I had booked. The 3rd car was the one I really wanted to drive out of the 3 I had selected. Now have to go through the Customer Services team to sort this out who don't work Saturdays. There are too many people booked in on the day for all to be accommodated. You are offered more laps for a price which puts everything back for others who are waiting. No communication between the booking in team and the car area team. Not enough places to try to keep out of the weather. Need to sort out the sound equipment and to make sure electric cabling is not in water! DO NOT BOOK THIS EXPERIENCE WITH CAR CHASE HERO'S.”
“My son really enjoyed the driving although they could have driven for longer. Always catch you out with extra costs. If you can't prove that you have £5k in the bank to apparently cover the insurance excess, then you MUST pay the insurance waiver. Of course hard sell on the photos and videos after but if its sunny dont bother as you cant see your childs face due to the glare. Also extra cost at the beginning for the warm up laps which is basically just being driven round the track by someone else so thats just extra money for them but they make you feel guilty by saying its best for your child so they dont waste the experience. Why can't these things just be one price and thats it! AND they charged us to park at the venue which is actually public land anyway! Money grabbers. Wouldnt do one of these again due to all the extra expenses.”
“I sent a full message of complaint no one responded!!
Horrendous time my son was being so patient but spent all day there for 10 mins
My son was so upset as people were paying in front of us and jumped the queue… very unhappy 11 year old birthday”
“Abingdon Airfield
Got up at 5am to drive to the airfield for an 8:30 start. On arrival I was charged to park which I thought was a bit much. I was signed on by Neve who then told me the Optimus prime truck I had paid extra for and my 6 year old had chosen as my 40th birthday present was not there. I was told I could drive somthing else or another truck (one of their transporters) which I replied it’s not the same really.
I was asked to choose another car and then charged £29 for insurance. After various emails they are claiming they offered me a refund which is a straight up lie. I would have used the refund money to pay the insurance rather than pick another car.
Throughly dissatisfied with the company. To many people booked in on the day and was standing around a lot. AVOID if possible”
“READ THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS.
I booked the Car Chase Heroes experience through Virgin Experiences. Their website does not provide all the information you should know before purchasing a Car Chase Heroes Experience. These experiences need to be booked well in advance due to limited spaces which means you go past the 30day Virgin refund policy.
The "Italian Job Experience" was a gift for my husband’s Christmas 2021. This consisted of driving: an E-Type Jag, a Harrington Bus and a Mini Cooper. The finale was with an instructor driving him onto the back of the moving Harington bus - just like in the movie! Cost £199.00.
Nothing like it happened on the day.
Despite the advertised racetrack options, be aware that not all experiences are available at all Racetracks. We wanted Sunderland, but had to go to Tockwith (about 2 hours drive each way.) We drove to York the day before (as the booking was for 10.30am) and stayed in a hotel.
We arrived only to find that the drive onto the moving bus was not available as the bus was not working, but my husband was offered a drive onto the back of the stationary bus or drive a lorry instead. We declined. What they offered on the day was not what was advertised and paid for. I accept that mechanical breakdowns happen, but I do not accept that in the event they cannot fulfil the contract, that there are no refunds.
There is no seating or shelter so take your own chair/s. You stand in a communal area and wait for your name to be called. If the bus had been working, we would have been there for over 3 hours. It just happened to be a very hot day, the place was dusty and humid and stank of exhaust fumes and it was very noisy. The track is only a go-kart track and a large number of vehicles are on the small track at the same time. You are accompanied by an instructor in the passenger seat who can wave other cars past and you have to slow down and move out the way when he tells you to. You are on the track with children driving cars such as “The Batmobile”.
As other people comment, the sight lap is a waste of time. My husband was offered this as a ‘sorry’ on the day, having travelled a reasonable distance and booked overnight accommodation. The lap is over very quickly.
Once you have booked this experience with Car Chase, you cannot get any of your money back, despite the fact they may not fulfil their side of the contract. If the car you booked isn't available, you either go back another time or you are offered a drive in a different car.
You should also note that you have to pay an additional amount for Insurance on the day.
There is nowhere for friends to film or photograph you in or by your chosen car. The Company do all that, which then costs £25+ on top of what you have already paid out.
We re-booked for the end of May 2023. However, we have decided not to go as there is no guarantee that all the cars or bus experience will be available on the day, so we could be disappointed again and the cost of yet another full tank of petrol and overnight stay wasted!
I believe this is a matter for trading standards.”
“I booked the experience through The Daily Mail last summer for my husband to drive a Harrington bus. When we arrived on 1st May at Elvington this year there was no bus! We were told that an email had been sent to tell us that the bus wouldn’t be available. I re ran email on 27th April stating that they were looking forward to seeing us but there was also a second email in my junk mail telling us that unfortunately the bus was not available! We were told that the bus would be available for two days in early August snd then possibly end of October. My husband had a drive instead in a transporter but not what we had planned. Very disappointed!!!”
“Couldn't book the original cars on the voucher, had to change for just one car, just 3 laps of very short track at Ipswich, expensive insurance and photos/video.
Never again, total waste of time and money.”
“Visited York on bank hol monday, arrived at time requested, pressured into taking damage waiver and extras which wasn't appreciated, then waited for 2 1/2 hours to find out i wasn't on the list to drive a car even though was booked 7 months beforehand. Too many cars on the very short track at the same time so could not enjoy driving the car. The track itself is just a airport runway with cones on it, not an actual track sadly. £2 to park which isn't mentioned anywhere, burger van insanely expensive, £4 for a small ice cream, 1 photo was £25, video of lap was £50. Booking states 3 miles, but did 2 laps and i cannot accept the track is 1.5 miles, i had high speed passenger ride included in my virgin experience but they wouldn't let me have it. Cars are in extremely poor condition, i drove standard nissan GTR and seats were falling to pieces, whole interior was filthy. Would not recommend to anyone”
“When it’s raining maybe think about the paying customers not getting wet waiting for a car to drive !!!! All staff were under built awnings for the day !!!! I wouldn’t recommend this birthday present to my worst enemy !!!”
