IPG/Delta Force Paintball - anyone with any experience of them?

navylouise

I'm absolutely disgusted with this company! I can't believe how much bad press theyre receiving and yet they are still getting away with treating customers so badly.
I made a booking for the 25th of march for my husband and I (also not realising the full cost although this isn't my main issue) - however after finding out that I'm 5 weeks pregnant we decided it probably wasn't the safest thing to do at the moment. I called up today to cancel and was told I couldn't have my money back - I explained the circumstances and was rudely told that they would keep my booking open for a year! I explained that in the next year I probably won't be up to it and recieved no compassion, just a sharp 'that's all I can do!'

I'm so angry, does anyone know..surely this is against consumer rights to refuse a refund for something I cannot use??

Orion3T

We recently held my 12 year old son's birthday at Delta Force Livingston, after my wife bought 10 for £60 tickets through IPG from a tout at an airshow.

Firstly, there was a whole page of details with the tickets explaining exactly what was involved and what you still had to pay, including buying the first 100 balls at £10. In short - don't take the tout's word for it, read the information in the booklet that comes with the tickets.

So that gets you 200 balls and all-day balling for £16 per person. I honestly don't think that's bad value at all BUT... it depends how many balls you use.

We ended up buying a set of 1000 for £6 per 100, plus 2 more tubes of 100. So we spent about an extra £70 on balls on the day, and we did get some money towards those from some of the parents.

However what I would say to anyone considering paintballing is to ration the balls to anyone who isn't paying for them with their own money!

For example, when you get your initial 100 balls per person, do NOT just let each kid pour the lot into their hoppers. 2 things will happen:

1. Lots of balls end up on the floor, and the staff don't let you pick them up 'because they are exposed to moisture and will break up' or some such nonsense. This is quite annoying when you weren't warned how to fill the hopper without dropping balls.

2. The balls that do end up in the hopper will all get sprayed, mosly without hitting anyone at all, within the first half of the 1st game. Kids especially, and especially those who haven't paintballed before, will probably be trying to hit people like crazy, from all sorts of crazy distances, through heavy cover, and without the slightest thought of conserving ammo.

So I would strongly advise the following procedure:

1. A responsible adult rations the balls pre-game. Get the kids to queue up and give them each maybe 30 balls for the first game. Pour them into their hopper for them while they cover the exit hole with their thumb.

2. Give them all a nice clear brief on ammo conservation - make it clear that by conserving ammo their team is more likely to win, because once you are out of ammo you are out of the game. Tell them to wait till they have a good clear shot, and only fire carefully aimed shots.

3. Give the most responsible person playing a tube with some extra ammo, so they can issue perhaps 10 balls to those who run out mid-game. This way the kids get to keep playing even if they do get carried away.

This may sound really restrictive, but believe me it will pay off because they will learn how to conserve ammo, which is a perfectly enjoyable way to play, and your ammo will last. If after the first few games you can relax these rules, then all the better!

Also, by not filling hoppers much you stand much less chance of accidental loss when a hopper falls off or flips open.

Personally I didn't use much ammo at all, maybe the 30-40 per game at the very most. Some games considerably less than that. I still had a great time. Loads of people just fire like crazy from great distances and maybe get a hit 1/30 of the time if they are lucky.

If we had done this from the start, I think we would have had a great time with just 300 balls per person - that would be the £16 we originally paid plus £6 for the extra 100. So £22 per person, which really isn't too bad for an entire day of paintballing, especially if you ask parents to give their kids some money towards the extra balls.

If you stick to the above, you will find the costs are kept down, which keeps the parents happier and thus everyone has a more enjoyable day.

greybuffalo

Do most paint balling places use the same calibre?0.68?
Anyone know does Centerparcs use that calibre too:question:

samr217

We get asked this all the time, really it depends on who you are playing against, the type of game, number of players and how aggressive you want to play. Paintball is a very tactical game, you can either save your bullets and play a safe game and conserve your balls, or be really aggressive and go through a minimum of 100 balls per hour! Both have their advantages one can be very fun and one can be very expensive!

I would always advise on buying 300 balls at the start of the day and seeing how you get on and buy some more when needed, rather than having some left over.

Muggo_2

HAVE I BEEN FLEECED????
Totally gutted that i have read so many similar complaints.
I bought my nephew as a surprise about £120 worth of VIP Vouchers from an IPG rep in the Ashley Centre in Epsom. £60 so he could play as a group of 10 & the other £60 as extra ammo.
Went to book today & told that the ammo is only for the last game & it is £10 a head for each player for the ammo.... but that is exactly why we bought the extra £60 worth of voucher.
Total Rip off - i am waiting for a person from IPG central office to call me back.
Sadly if you check the small print i was totally duped.
I hope that IPG have the decency to put this right.
Having been made redundant recently i cannot afford the extra & equally i cannot tell the lad that he cannot go.
I will let you know.........

dicky_smith

I have played paintball and worked at non Delta Force paintball sites and had access to many customers and paintball players over the years.

Generally the consensus seems to be that the experience at the venues is a good one and the prices are a matter of opinion.

Relating the price of the paintballs to the price on ebay is nonsensical as the paint sold at any paintball venue covers all the associated cost of running the business. Unless you have access to the balance sheet it would seem to be an uneducated opinion.

The problem with the company and why the words Delta Force and scam are often placed together is due to the sales techniques.

In Manchester for instance they sell tickets in supermarkets and shopping centres advertising one of their sites as "Delta Force Manchester" when in-fact this is almost 30 miles away, often a shock to grandma! At the site I worked at in Greater Manchester (less than 8 miles from the city centre) we often got phone calls from customers who purchased the vouchers on the street with the assumption they would at least be in the Manchester A-Z, begging us to let them us them at our site as they would not be traveling to Zulu wood.

The Delta Force site advertised as Delta Force Manchester was actually significantly closer to Stoke-on-Trent!

Ask questions, shop around, take the information away with you and then purchase the tickets on a subsequent visit, if you're still happy.

elisebutt65

Here's my thread. I got my money back eventually. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4449465

dacouch

There should be a couple of very satisfied customer who are coincidently new posters should be along in a couple of days

dodger1

Jays wrote: »

Hi there

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew here.

Has anyone any experience of this paintball company?

Whilst out shopping we were talked into buying a set of 8 VIP tickets for paintballing for £50,

So in all, taking six kids out paintballing will cost me £261

Have to say that £261 for a day out for six people including lunch seems pretty reasonable these days. Obviously the extras should have been made aware to you during the original purchase but just £50 for eight VIP tickets should have set alarms ringing. Just go and enjoy yourself with the kids and have a fun day.

Jane_b_2

So glad I found this, I have also been ripped off by IPG in the same way as the first person in this thread. I was unsure about buying the but I was assured that there were no hidden costs and now that I am trying to book I am also being told it's an extra £10 per person minimum and basicly tough luck. I can now see that this is a common scam. So how come they are allowed to continue to do this? Does anyone know if there has been an investigation. I can not get a name or number of anyone to talk to. Customer care don't seem to exist. Any advice please?