Amanda B.
This company is a scam!! Stay far away
This company is a scam!! Stay far away! I strongly advise against booking any events with this company. I registered for an event at the Animal Wildlife Sanctuary and paid $63: $50 (which would have been the actual price of the ticket at the place) plus a hidden $13 he added on to the fee including a required donation you had to make to Sober Outdoors before you could even check out! I drove an hour only to arrive and discover that no reservation had been made. The sanctuary staff had no record of any ticket purchases from the organizer, Nick (the owner), and even expressed concern that this may be part of an ongoing scam, which they are now investigating further. I’ve made multiple attempts over the past three weeks to contact Sober Outdoors for a refund, but my emails and messages have been completely ignored. I later learned that another participant had a nearly identical experience at a climbing event—they paid $88, showed up, and again, no one was there and no reservation existed. This company appears to be collecting funds directly through their website without actually securing tickets or organizing legitimate events. I find this deeply unethical, particularly as they seem to be targeting members of the sober community. Please be cautious and share this warning with others to prevent further harm.
Response from Sober OutdoorsJun 7, 2025
Hi Amanda! Thanks so much for your message — truly. I always appreciate when someone takes the time to share their experience, and I’m really sorry to hear that yours left you feeling frustrated. That’s never the intention. That said, I do want to lovingly (but firmly!) set the record straight — because several points in your note are simply not accurate. 🌟 First: The “hidden $13 donation”? Not a thing. Our system doesn’t — and literally can’t — force donations at checkout. What you saw was a standard processing fee, which is always clearly listed before completing your registration. There are no surprise costs, no hidden tricks. What you see is what you pay. Promise. 💳 Second: Your refund. You were issued a full refund on June 2nd, 2025, right back to your original card. If it hasn’t shown up yet, I’m happy to resend confirmation or walk you through how to locate it. We're not the type to sit on people’s money — that's just not how we do things. 🦁 Third: The Wildlife Sanctuary. We’ve held several events there in the past without any issue. This event was cancelled ahead of time, and that info (along with the refund) was sent directly to the email you provided. There’s no scam, no investigation, no drama — just a change in plans, which happens sometimes in community-based outdoor programming. 🧗♀️ And that story about another participant having a similar issue? That’s news to us. We’ve double-checked every event log and communication thread and found nothing to support that claim. Everyone who signs up for one of our events is either welcomed in-person or fully refunded if something changes — just like in your case. Amanda, I know it’s easy to jump to conclusions when things go wrong — especially if it feels like no one’s answering fast enough (which I’ll absolutely take ownership for; we’re a small, scrappy team and sometimes responses lag). But I can assure you, there’s no ill intent here. Just real people trying our absolute best to build something meaningful, transparent, and healing for folks in recovery. If you ever want to talk more about it or give us another shot in the future, my door’s wide open. And if not — no hard feelings at all. Life is too short, and recovery is too sacred, for anything less than kindness and truth. Wishing you nothing but peace, good vibes, and happy trails ahead. 🌈 All the best, Nick Founder, Sober Outdoors