[SDH Racing]

Well as some of you might remember a little while back we posted a rider call in the womens section. We received a request from Chrissie Pinney in CA.
After talking it over with the sponsors she was signed onto the team with the expectation that she would ride/race and represent the team for the 08 season. However after receiving her sponsored gear worth over 400+ dollars along with other deals, non of that happened. In fact shortly after I never heard from her again and all her contact info changed and she became unreachable from my end. Also I found out she was receiving messages, reading them, but not responding with any info what so ever. She also failed to appear with a big sponsor of ours (Black Market bikes) at an event and they were not too pleased at that which eventually comes down on me, the team owner.

To us this is a classic "hit and run" where the rider had no real plans of supporting the team just on it for free gear then the split. This is completely unprofessional and represents poorly of the article Decline wrote about her last year.
As of now this rider and her actions are NOT recommended for any other type of sponsorships or magazine coverage. As a busy team manager I'm very disappointed things turned out this way as she seemed to have alot of potential as a racer and pro level rider in time.

Finally, I'm only posting this as a WARNING to other teams or groups she might apply to.
Thank you.

Team SDH

 

[I Are Baboon]

You mean her: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186197 ?

 

[binary visions]

That sucks. What a lousy situation for you, and lousy ethics from her.

I followed the link to her MySpace and laughed when I found this quote:

I live life for myself, not anyone else.

I guess it doesn't get much more accurate than that.

 

[Westy]

I say we just set Konabumm after her.

 

[binary visions]

I say we just set Konabumm after her.

Do you really think a shady moral code is worth a lifetime of scarring and future therapy?

 

[DirtMcGirk]

As a team owner/manager I can relate. I've had racers pull the same crap, and our kit is worth nowhere near $400.

If you have a contract she signed, as I believe she is now an adult, I would bring the full measure against her. Being good and being pretty will get you far, but being a scumbag on top of that will limit how far that goes.

Broadcast this from the rooftops. Contact girly teams, CA race venues, hell, call up Decline. Load heavy.

 

[SDH Racing]

You mean her: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186197 ?

Yes that is her in your link, also see my thread in Mud Hunnies titled "Calling out top mud hunnies". I have already contacted Sponsorhouse and Decline about what has happened regarding this chain of events. I did in fact get intouch with her family via the info she provided us with upon initial sponsorship and explained what has transpired in the last few months between her and us. Turns out she had no real plans of continuing to ride/race as she lead us on to believe, which would explain her fast exit after receiving all the sponsored gear from us. If things continue on this path I will contact the local authorities and file a police report under theft and see where it goes from there.
I have a feeling this is going to end up being a wild goose chase but hopefully not and will come to some type of resolve on both ends.

 

[binary visions]

Cute. I wonder if anyone gave her any money to get to her race?

You won't get anything filing for theft except maybe a scare for her to give the stuff back. Probably have to sue her for breach of contract if you actually want to recover something.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Cute. I wonder if anyone gave her any money to get to her race?

Perfect example of why you should never give money to internet strangers unless their username is "I Are Baboon."

 

[SK6]

Cute. I wonder if anyone gave her any money to get to her race?

You won't get anything filing for theft except maybe a scare for her to give the stuff back. Probably have to sue her for breach of contract if you actually want to recover something.

Sadly, cost to litigate v recovery is way unbalanced. The scare with authorities may be an option.

 

[binary visions]

Perfect example of why you should never give money to internet strangers unless their username is "I Are Baboon."

Nothing says trust like a grammatically poor simian moniker.

 

[SDH Racing]

Cute. I wonder if anyone gave her any money to get to her race?

You won't get anything filing for theft except maybe a scare for her to give the stuff back. Probably have to sue her for breach of contract if you actually want to recover something.

She has this week to contact us and work to resolve these issues, if not then that will be the next step. At this point I'm beyond weary of this kind of behavior which seems VERY prevalent in the biking world. Everyone that jumps on an MTB seems to feel they deserve pro level sponsorship with nothing else to back it up other then a race or two they did. Over the past few years we have been plagued with "hit and runs" and cant afford anymore without looking foolish to our sponsors. Riders contact us to join, seem like good expert/semi pro riders then seem to vanish without a trace once they get a heavily discounted bike or free gear. With our current set up it cost a sponsored rider no more then 1900 bucks to build up a retail wise 5K+ DH rig or 500 bucks for a 1800+ street/jump bike.
"If you cant ride then don't apply" is the motto here.

 

[FR4life.]

That really sucks. You should post this up on msdhw Many people on that forum know her personally, and it would probably be alot easier to get in touch with her on there. If you want, I could post it on there for you with a link to this thread or something. I was actually on a team with her at one point back in 06. Good luck.

 

[binary visions]

In an industry that's so small, and especially one with so few women in it, someone might want to remind her that this is the kind of thing that could haunt her for as long as she races. It's amazing how far people's personal networks extend, and you never know where your next opportunity will come from.

 

[eaterofdog]

Is racing full of crackheads or something? Why would someone waste their integrity for a measly $400 of gear?

 

[Westy]

Is racing full of crackheads or something? Why would someone waste their integrity for a measly $400 of gear?

Some people just have no integrity.

 

[trailhacker]

Just to clarify, is she still racing but not flying the team colors/living up to contractual obligations or did she disappear from racing altoghether?

 

[FR4life.]

Just to clarify, is she still racing but not flying the team colors/living up to contractual obligations or did she disappear from racing altoghether?

I saw her at sea otter, she was probably racing...

 

[SDH Racing]

I saw her at sea otter, she was probably racing...

To answer a few questions here...
After she received her gear and other deals back in March that was it, no more contact what so ever. It started with unreturned phone calls then reading contact messages but not responding. Both the sponsors and us had no idea what was going on with her since March so it was left up to me to "fill in the gaps" on why she jumped ship so suddenly after proclaiming how much she was going to do for us this year.
I did speak with some of her family members and they were disappointed to hear the news but so far I have not heard anything from her directly yet. I have a strong feeling that to be able to reconcile all of this will take some work from local authorities since I still have her info on file and what not.
I count it as a blessing that most of our sponsors have very long standing relationships with us since 2000-2002 so it allows flexible "credit" if you will to make up for when things like this happen. In todays market it's hard enough to survive as it is with companies having their own teams to support, outside teams like us have to rely on relationships and creditability to get by.

Heh ... at this point maybe I should get on the horn with Chase and see if Cannondale will pick up the team under contract with DH Productions to help out filming.

 

[SDH Racing]

That really sucks. You should post this up on msdhw Many people on that forum know her personally, and it would probably be alot easier to get in touch with her on there. If you want, I could post it on there for you with a link to this thread or something. I was actually on a team with her at one point back in 06. Good luck.

That could prove to be helpful, however as disappointed as we are with this I dont want to how would you say... "burn her at the stake". If you feel that it would be helpful to post this info on there then you have my permission to link this in a thread there to get the word out about what transpired with her and us.


Her SH link
http://www.loopd.com/Members/bikechick7/Default.aspx

 

[Serial Midget]

This sounds like a case for Judge Judy & her uncanny knack for serving justice!

 

[DirtMcGirk]

This sounds like a case for Judge Judy & her uncanny knack for serving justice!

I would pay to see that.
"Now listen here young lady..."

Yes, yes do this. This is the best idea on Ridemonkey ever.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

What's funny is if you enter her name into google this is the third thing that comes up.

Bad move to spike your riding business over $400...

 

[blue]

If you decide to pursue it:

Filing fee for small claims in CA is $30. If the value of the gear she took is worth the effort, do it,. If she signed a contract, and if she signed it when she was 18, it would be a pretty cut-and-dried thing and pretty painless for you in that regard. However, collecting would probably be tough. Ask me how I know (currently have a $4500 judgement against an auto shop run by a meth addict).

 

[SDH Racing]

Well things turned a bit ugly this evening. I ended up getting in touch with her mother and it turns out and after a 10 minute heated conversation this is what transpired. Chrissie is obviously avoiding us because she knows what she did thus the contact info for her is no good. And at this point only her parents info is valid but they keep pushing the fact that she's "18 and an adult". Well thats just fine... if she took responsibility like an adult and contacted me to resolve this over the past months. So the way I see it, unless the parents step in or I take it outside the family lines, there's no way to resolve any of this.
If the family turns their back on it then I'll fax over her info to local police along with a file in small claims court for said damages and call it a day.

 

[sanjuro]

BTW, why is she is still on your team site?

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Hey, I collected a $7k judgment against a stripper in Reno.
Just had to wait five years, and when she got married to a local fat cat, I came down on her like a sack full of donkey ****.

Got my money, plus interest.

Moral of the story: Drop the hammer hard. Crissie can't avoid being a grown up, so make her own up like one. Ask for specific and general damages, loss of business, and acts of god...

 

[binary visions]

I dont want to how would you say... "burn her at the stake".

I don't know about that. I understand your reluctance to go too nuts over it, but... well, douchebags will be douchebags as long as they're allowed to get away with it. Teaching her a life lesson about ethical conduct - and recovering your money at the same time - is probably no bad thing.

We have all made bad choices. The people who best learn from them, though, are the ones who don't get away scot free.

 

[SK6]

Hey, I collected a $7k judgment against a stripper in Reno.
Just had to wait five years, and when she got married to a local fat cat, I came down on her like a sack full of donkey ****.

Got my money, plus interest.

Moral of the story: Drop the hammer hard. Crissie can't avoid being a grown up, so make her own up like one. Ask for specific and general damages, loss of business, and acts of god...

Two things....


1. What you just said is all true.

2. I swear I never knew you could articulate words like that.

 

[SDH Racing]

I don't know about that. I understand your reluctance to go too nuts over it, but... well, douchebags will be douchebags as long as they're allowed to get away with it. Teaching her a life lesson about ethical conduct - and recovering your money at the same time - is probably no bad thing.

We have all made bad choices. The people who best learn from them, though, are the ones who don't get away scot free.

Yeah who knew something like ethics could be a benefit in bike racing or life for that matter. Well after looking into it more it appears that she's just not mature enough to understand that racing is also a business and a serious one at that. That requires time and hard work to accomplish the goals of riding and winning.
This is like one of those cop shows where the person tries to outrun the cops rather then just stop to begin with. In other words if she had just contacted us in the first place to work things out then all this could have been avoided.
To answer the other posters question, the reason she's on the site is because we need to update it at the moment.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Two things....


1. What you just said is all true.

2. I swear I never knew you could articulate words like that.

You love it when I use lawyer words, gets you all squishy inside...

And yup, you can get that money. Be the hammer of the lord, the divine retribution that slackers and nare-do-wells deserve.

 

[SK6]

You love it when I use lawyer words, gets you all squishy inside...

And yup, you can get that money. Be the hammer of the lord, the divine retribution that slackers and nare-do-wells deserve.

Not really, I gotta write 'em for ya, then make sure electronically they are forensically defensible....






I agree however, sue the sh!t out of her.

 

[blue]

You love it when I use lawyer words, gets you all squishy inside...

And yup, you can get that money. Be the hammer of the lord, the divine retribution that slackers and nare-do-wells deserve.

Put a lien on a bike or two.

That'll get her attention.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Anyone got an update?

 

[S.K.C.]

Chrissie Pinney.... I KNOW I've heard that name before...

Wasn't she featured in an issue of DECLINE last year???

To have the gall to take goods from someone based on false pretenses and then just walk away from obligations made via an oral or written contract is completely criminal.

...but I'm probably guessing in her head the inner monologue reads something like this: "...well like, they totally just gave me the stuff, so like, WHATEVER... no givesies no backsies!!!" She knows she did something unscrupulous and her actions since the receival of her equipment/money have clearly demonstrated this.

Unreal...

Well if she doesn't cough up the gear and/or monetary compensation, seeking compensatory damages from the parents is definitely the next step. Hope you get back what was stolen.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Well if she doesn't cough up the gear and/or monetary compensation, seeking compensatory damages from the parents is definitely the next step. Hope you get back what was stolen.

The problem with this is that she's an adult.

Unfortunately the easiest way to deal with this is to take her to small claims court. She received goods under false pretenses, or at lease by intent to deceive, and as such, she's in a highly actionable position.

If I was the OP I would file a suit in her county of residence, and then wait and see what happens. Once the process server hits her with this, I think the might start singing a tune. Take the contract she signed, along with all emails between the OP and Ms. Pinney, and the communication with her family, and show it to the judge.

Once you secure a judgment, slap a lien on her bikes and her car (if its in her name). She'll think twice about this, and I suspect that if the OP were to call Decline they might be interested in this. Our little sport can't afford to have ambassadors or representatives like this. We're not all scamsters, pink wearing con-artists, etc.

Drop the hammer man, drop the hammer.

 

[MikeD]

Hey, I collected a $7k judgment against a stripper in Reno.

That's a hell of a dry-cleaning bill.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

That's a hell of a dry-cleaning bill.

Yea, I learned always wear my saran wrap slickers to strip clubs the hard way.

 

[SDH Racing]

Anyone got an update?

I do....

So early last week we finally started exchanging e mails and she agreed to pay the amount due which actually came to more then 450 when all was accounted for.
So that was last week, this week... nothing as of yet. The parents don't want anything to do with it but she still lives there and if this keeps drawing out then I'll have to contact them to get the ball rolling. If not then I'll go to the county court and seek other options of getting things settled.
Also at this point there's a two sided story. Her family says it's her erratic behavior that caused the mess, while she says her dad took away all her bikes ect ect...
At this point I don't care because I have a team to keep running and just want the payment to get it over with.
As far as the other comments, I've already contacted Decline about the matter and yes it's because she had an article with them.
What I cant understand is how built up she was and great she was at first and then vanished without hardly a trace shortly after.
Why throw all that away? Why not stay on it and keep working at it, especially after getting a full page article in a well known mag?

 

[DirtMcGirk]

That sucks.

Sounds to me like you're getting 10% of the story.