Chris Young concert tickets (PHOTO: Midwest Communications Inc.)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – As concerts, sports, and other events are being canceled amid the pandemic – many people are questioning how they can get a refund for tickets they already bought.
Under state law, consumers are protected from losing money from most prepaid fees. Susan Bach of the Better Business Bureau says only inclement weather allows promoters to reschedule without issues refunds.
“Whether or not consumers get a refund really depends on whether the event was either canceled or rescheduled,” Bach tells WTAQ News, “If it’s rescheduled for any other reason, for example, the situation that we’re in now, that ticket holder is entitled to a refund.”
When events are rescheduled for other reasons, ticket holders must present tickets to the promoter no later than 30 days after the date on which the event was originally scheduled to be held.
Promoters are required to inform consumers about non-refundable services, which has become a major sticking point for local festivals like Country USA and Rock USA. But it’s also on buyers to read the fine print.
“We are getting lots of complaints about ticket holders who purchase tickets for country USA and rock USA,” Bach says, “We’re also talking about parking fees and camping fees, and some of those are not going to be refundable. That’s explicitly stated in the fine print…It’s very important that the ticket holder present their tickets to the promoter in a timely fashion. The law says that it has to be within 90 days after the event is canceled.”
Under current law, a promoter must make a refund no later than 60 days after you present your ticket.
“Your first recourse should be to file a dispute with your credit card company or PayPal. People are getting refunds through PayPal and through their credit card company, but the window of opportunity to do that again is very limited,” Bach says.
Anyone who is having issues with receiving a refund for tickets is asked to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
