Or, “Freeride in a Free Fall.”
When I received an email from Freeride.com today entitled, “Stay Ahead of Your Bills. Offer Inside,” I had to laugh. You see, yesterday was the SECOND deadline by which time Freeride had promised long-overdue redemptions would be paid (now in THEIR choice of payment, a Virtual Visa)…and once again, they disappointed their members.
Freeride is owned by Endai Worldwide, headquartered in New York City. They’ve been in business since 1999. Endai bought Freeride in 2002, but the site was dormant until mid-2003. Their CEO is Michael F. “Mike” Ferranti. Their Chief Financial Officer is Thomas Rotolo, a CPA formerly with Ernst & Young. According to this job posting for an assistant for CEO Ferranti, Endai is a small company of “about 20-25 people.” Endai Worldwide is located on Water St., and this is their toll-free number: 866-897-6584 (their regular number is 212-430-0808). Freeride’s address is on Beekman Street. I don’t know if there’s a direct number to their location. Freeride’s long-time director, Corey Newhouse, left the company sometime after June of last year; I can’t find any info on who’s in charge of Freeride now. I did see that they’re trying to hire customer service people (a job listing posted on 9/20, “you will be the key person our users hear from: the ‘voice’ of FreeRide!). I guess whoever had that job before got tired of dealing with member complaints.
Despite its inability to pay members on time, Freeride continues to offer free, non-spending points on a daily basis. A site that offers points for free, without honoring redemptions, is one on its way out. I’m sorry, but I can’t buy the excuse that a technical glitch delayed redemptions for months, then another technical glitch delayed redemptions promised within 7 business days…and now, what excuse will they give for redemptions not delivered by 9/30? My dog ate it?
Until Freeride gets its act straight, I would strongly suggest you find some other way to waste your time online.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Surely compensation is in the form of unredeemable points.
i redeemed points for a $25 visa back on May 7th, still haven’t received it yet
Ecounts either ran out of money or they are being flooded with requests. I sent them an email a week ago and have not recieved any response.
after some delay, i recieved my gift card. i know they had a problem, but it appears they worked it out. yeah freeride!