Superhero Events LLC Will Not Refund Races! Hollywood Half Marathon, Sabrina Nwadike Ken Nwadike, Team Superhero, Hollywood Half Marathon, USA Half Marathon, Team Superhero, Superhero Elite, Cancels Half Marathons and races and does not refund runners! Chula Vista California
Superhero Events Cancelled the USA Half Marathon and the Santa Clara Half Marathon and refused to refund my money!
I had signed up for the Santa Clara Half Marathon running race, which was to be held in Santa Clara, CA on December 14, 2014. I paid $111.44 for registration and processing fees, and I used my credit card. Superhero Events, LLC is the company that was organizing the race. On September 24, 2014,... Superhero Events, LLC sent out a blast email to all registrants for this race informing us that the race was cancelled due to many logistical issues that they could not overcome. They claimed that they would be processing refunds over the next 6-8 weeks. However, I have not yet received any refund. Nor has Superhero Events, LLC made any kind of email contact or phone contact to me regarding the reason for the delay. I have sent them multiple emails and they simply don't respond, and that is the case for many people who are also awaiting refunds. Many people have publicly written on their Facebook walls (both the Superhero Events, LLC Facebook wall as well as the Facebook wall of another event they produce, Hollywood Half Marathon), and they made just a few responses to threads saying "Refunds are currently being processed", but that was it. Since then, various threads such as these have been deleted from their Facebook walls. Sabrina will delete all negative posts and block the user. They did the same thing to me at USA Half Marathon. I was too stupid to enter their race again! I learned my lesson I lost money twice :(
What they do is make successful races like Hollywood Half Marathon and get others to sign up for other races then cancel them. They have cancelled numerous races: 49ers Half Marathon and others.
They continously change addresses and phone numbers. Its nearly impossible to get a hold of them.
The CEO Ken Nwadike is running the famous Free Hugs Guy freehugsproject.com. Sabrina is in charge of the money making operation while Ken is out of town. She is the point of contact person sabrina@superheroevents.com
Runners World Article:
http://www.runnersworld.com/watchdog/usa-half-runners-say-they-have-not-received-refunds
Article brief:
Nwadike’s company, Superhero Events, has received 12 complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. All are from runners who signed up for races that were later canceled who hadn’t received the promised refunds. Two of those complaints were resolved to the complainants’ satisfaction; the other 10 were closed after 30 business days without a final response from the complainant or without the complainant accepting Superhero Events’ attempt to resolve the situation.
Nwadike told Runner’s World last year he hoped the USA Half would become “the Boston of half marathons.” But in the race’s first year, only 3,000 runners signed up, well below the 5,000-runner cap. The race appeared in the Races + Places section of the December 2016 issue of Runner’s World, which went to press shortly before the cancellation was announced.
Better Business Bureau Report: 13 complaints
| Complaint Type | Total Closed Complaints |
|---|---|
| Advertising/Sales Issues | 2 |
| Billing/Collection Issues | 0 |
| Delivery Issues | 0 |
| Guarantee/Warranty Issues | 0 |
| Problems with Product/Service | 11 |
| Total Closed Complaints | 13 |
2127 Olympic Pkwy #1006
Chula Vista, CA 91915
4190 Bonita Rd Chula Vista, CA 91902, California USA
2369 Paseo Los Gatos Chula Vista CA 91914-4428
619 271-7289
619 399-5537
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Additional Sources about Ken Nwadike history on Wikipedia
#2Author of original report
Mon, November 28, 2016
A little history on Ken which was featured on From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (which will probably be fixed by his company so you wont see this below). Here is the link to his Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_E._Nwadike_Jr
Ken E. Nwadike Jr is the President and CEO of Superhero Events, LLC, which produces the Hollywood Half Marathon. The Hollywood Half Marathon is an annual road running event, which is held each spring in Hollywood, California to raise funds for local homeless youth shelters. As a video journalist, Nwadike produces motivational videos to spread love, inspire change, and raise awareness of social issues. His 'Free Hugs' videos have reached hundreds of millions of views on Facebook and YouTube. On March 30, 2016, Nwadike released the controversial Donald Trump Rally Free Hugs vs Bernie Sanders Rally Free Hugs video to his "Free Hugs Project" channels on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.The video became a viral hit and his #MakeAmericaLoveAgain hashtag became a trending topic on Facebook and Twitter.
As a motivational speaker, Ken shares his personal story of overcoming homelessness and insecurities by getting involved in extracurricular activities in school. The support he received from coaches, teammates, and friends while playing sports and participating in student government activities, helped pave the way for Ken to start numerous businesses and a charitable organization that helps homeless teens. His presentation teaches students and co-workers to be more loving and supportive of one another to accomplish goals life-changing goals.
Ken's "Free Hugs Project" college program engages students in conversations of understanding, and compassion amidst the rising tide of hatred and racism. Ken interacts with student leaders during small group discussions, to encourage them to spread love and kindness to transform the campus climate. His visit concludes with a keynote address that explores the power of positive human interaction and ways to bridge the racial divide by spreading love. The goal of his program is to create unity, civility, and build a more diverse and inclusive culture on your campus.
Ken has been involved in numerous dilemmas over the years. In 2016, he cancelled the USA Half Marathon and did not refund anyone's money. He was featured in the Runners World Article. He has been subject to numerous complaints with the Better Business Bureau for unfair business practices. There are numerous complaints that Ken's organization has cancelled races and didn't refund peoples money which are mentioned in the alleged complaints. His company has 12 complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Ken used to own a transportation company (America Bus Line) years ago and he was shut down by California Public Utility Commission and ordered to close his business: Here was an article about his lawsuit when he owned that company. Here was the summons and complaint which had serious allegations.
Sources: