Ticketmaster refunds

[Dogpot]

Hi everyone,

Used to post on the forum lots back in the day but cant get access to my old account as my old email server seems to have disappeared. Gutted at Glasto being cancelled, was going to be my first year. I am planning on moving to Australia in August and hopefully thats still going to happen with whats going on. Still planning on flying back for rescheduled Glasto next year though!

The issue i have is that as an avid gig goer, i have spent hundreds of pounds on upcoming gigs that are now rescheduled. If i was staying in the country i would be happy with that but unfortunately i will not be so wont be able to make these gigs. I note that even smaller independent promoters are offering refunds, and i have not requested some of these as want to help the smaller bands out. For larger scale gigs though, i would like a refund. Unfortunately it appears that ticketmaster have changed their terms and conditions and now aren't offering refunds for rescheduled gigs. I think this is pretty poor of them.. Anyone in a similar situation or got any advice on how to get some of my money back? Otherwise will have to sell the tickets myself nearer the time which is a bit of effort.

Cheers,

Graham

[carlosj]

Could the Ticketmaster exchange scheme help, or Twickets? Both will help you sell on to other fans but it's less definite than a refund.

[Dogpot]

1 hour ago, carlosj said:

Could the Ticketmaster exchange scheme help, or Twickets? Both will help you sell on to other fans but it's less definite than a refund.

yeah guess i can do that but number of the gigs weren't sold out so wont be able to get any money back until next year for most of them and if i can will probably be a lot less than i paid for them

[lukethekid]

Ticketmaster are turning in to the proper knobwhiffs of the ticket world. 

[Suprefan]

6 hours ago, carlosj said:

Could the Ticketmaster exchange scheme help, or Twickets? Both will help you sell on to other fans but it's less definite than a refund.

 You dont want to do this yet.

 

 

The most difficult thing is that yeah, no refunds which is pretty foolish on their part right now. TM wants to keep all the money they can. And they should have let you get a refund because even if a small number of people at every gig get a refund, the rest still paid. Do not use their exchange or Twickets until you have to as you said closer to the gig, because if its cancelled you will lose some money. TM will say theyll refund you the face value but not any fees, and while the fees are not a lot of money, they shouldnt have to put you in That position to begin with.

[Avalon_Fields]

I’m shocked to hear this, for all my postponed gigs so far See Tickets and others have readily offered your money back, I’ve had one payment already and more to come. I’d give Ticketmaster hell. Plaster your unhappiness all over social media if they won’t budge, pressurise them. 

[carlosj]

9 hours ago, Dogpot said:

yeah guess i can do that but number of the gigs weren't sold out so wont be able to get any money back until next year for most of them and if i can will probably be a lot less than i paid for them

If they're not sold out, then yes, try twitter comments in public to get refunds.

[eFestivals]

1 hour ago, Avalon_Fields said:

I’m shocked to hear this, for all my postponed gigs so far See Tickets and others have readily offered your money back, I’ve had one payment already and more to come. I’d give Ticketmaster hell. Plaster your unhappiness all over social media if they won’t budge, pressurise them. 

i've got a theory for why, but it's long and very-speculative.

The short version is I believe that TM have been using the ticket money they've been holding for other (entirely legal) things, and now their cashflow has dried up it's left them in a sticky spot with liabilities they're struggling to cover in the short term.

I presume it's something they'll be able to sort out over coming weeks and months, but with LN's share price having crashed and difficult economic times I also guess nothing can be guaranteed.

[Dogpot]

Cheers for advice and input guys, I did tweet them and they replied quickly saying to contact the online helpdesk. So I have done that. Will let you know how i get on for anyone in the same situation.

[Ayrshire Chris]

I’ve had plenty gigs cancelled before and TM have offered a refund if the rescheduled date did not suit.  I can only assume they have changed their policy.  Just checked my TM account , I’ve got 8 gigs this year, The Who and Elbow already rescheduled. Waiting for word about others. Looks like see tickets are a bit more flexible than TM.

[maelzoid]

I have tickets outstanding for quite a few gigs. It doesn't surprise that Ticketmaster are not being particularly helpful.

Hopefully all of mine will be rescheduled, but if I'm entitled to a refund, I fully expect that booking fees will not come back. I have 6 tickets for Pearl Jam at BST and haven't allocated them to mates yet, so if that's in line for a refund, I'll get stiffed for all of the booking fees (£59 in total). Has anyone got experience of this yet?

The idea that booking fees for cancelled events are non-refundable is a scam of the highest order.

[zahidf]

Anyone paid by PayPal? If so, do it through them on the basis the service hasn't been supplied. I did that to seetickets when they refused to pay back service charges, and they backed off instantly and paid all off the service charges instantly.

[chuckles07]

TM are taking the piss at the moment. I would avoid their ticket transfer service if at all possible. I received the email about one of my rescheduled gigs and it included the below...

“If you've already received your tickets, they're still valid for the new date - you just need to show up on the night that you have booked for and they'll be accepted.

If you sold your tickets on our Ticket Exchange, you will now be paid 10-12 working days after the new date. “

 

so am I right in thinking that if you have used ticket transfer they are basically holding onto two lots of payments for the same tickets until the gig occurs, in this case end of September? If so that is well out of order. 

Edited March 25, 2020 by chuckles07
Piss

[ProperTea]

Have you spoken to your bank? They could authorise a charge back. I've recently had to do this for an event which was rescheduled with no option for a refund.

[Dogpot]

11 minutes ago, ProperTea said:

Have you spoken to your bank? They could authorise a charge back. I've recently had to do this for an event which was rescheduled with no option for a refund.

interesting, what bank are you with? did you just give them a ring?

[ProperTea]

3 minutes ago, Dogpot said:

interesting, what bank are you with? did you just give them a ring?

I used a template from the living legend that is Martin Lewis:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

[Dogpot]

33 minutes ago, ProperTea said:

I used a template from the living legend that is Martin Lewis:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

Thanks i will try this if they aren't helpful in reply to my email

[Suprefan]

9 hours ago, chuckles07 said:

TM are taking the piss at the moment. I would avoid their ticket transfer service if at all possible. I received the email about one of my rescheduled gigs and it included the below...

“If you've already received your tickets, they're still valid for the new date - you just need to show up on the night that you have booked for and they'll be accepted.

If you sold your tickets on our Ticket Exchange, you will now be paid 10-12 working days after the new date. “

 

so am I right in thinking that if you have used ticket transfer they are basically holding onto two lots of payments for the same tickets until the gig occurs, in this case end of September? If so that is well out of order. 

 Yep, thats why I said dont do anything regarding transfers and exchanges til you have to. Its even worse on AXS if you used their marketplace. Youll get credit to your account with them, so theres no physical money to get back to you. What a time for blockchain to rear its little head into our lives.

[DareToDibble]

On 3/25/2020 at 11:31 AM, maelzoid said:

The idea that booking fees for cancelled events are non-refundable is a scam of the highest order.

I bought tickets for the Speedway the other day. There was a booking fee and a service charge. That was annoying in itself but the thing that really took the piss was the delivery options. £2.50 for tickets by post or if you just wanted them emailed to you... also £2.50. Absolute shithousery.

Edited March 26, 2020 by DareToDibble

[maelzoid]

In the past I have fought ticketing companies to return booking fees and have usually won, but it has always been an effort.

I think the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is on our side here but most people don't realise it. The line that the ticket companies always quote is that their right to keep booking fees is part of the terms and conditions, which it is. However, anything in Ts&Cs which is considered 'unfair' is not enforceable, because as customers we were denied the right to negotiate those Ts&Cs when we agreed to them. I have always felt that if I don't get to go to the event, it has not been 'booked' therefore it is unfair for a company to charge me for that booking - it sounds obvious, but frequently I've needed to explain this to the ticketing company before I get any action from them. I think they know they're in the wrong, but hope that the amount of complainers is small enough that it's still profitable for them to play this game.

On a positive note, the two gigs I have booked pre-Glastonbury have both been rescheduled, so no anxiety about reclaiming fees.

[Hugh Jass]

22 hours ago, chuckles07 said:

TM are taking the piss at the moment. I would avoid their ticket transfer service if at all possible. I received the email about one of my rescheduled gigs and it included the below...

“If you've already received your tickets, they're still valid for the new date - you just need to show up on the night that you have booked for and they'll be accepted.

If you sold your tickets on our Ticket Exchange, you will now be paid 10-12 working days after the new date. “

 

so am I right in thinking that if you have used ticket transfer they are basically holding onto two lots of payments for the same tickets until the gig occurs, in this case end of September? If so that is well out of order. 

I’ve been shafted by the AXS ticket exchange. Sold my Nick Cave ticket but now that the gig has been postponed they won’t pay me until after the rearranged gig.

[chuckles07]

19 hours ago, Suprefan said:

 Yep, thats why I said dont do anything regarding transfers and exchanges til you have to. Its even worse on AXS if you used their marketplace. Youll get credit to your account with them, so theres no physical money to get back to you. What a time for blockchain to rear its little head into our lives.

 

7 hours ago, Hugh Jass said:

I’ve been shafted by the AXS ticket exchange. Sold my Nick Cave ticket but now that the gig has been postponed they won’t pay me until after the rearranged gig.

 

 

7 hours ago, maelzoid said:

I think the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is on our side here but most people don't realise it...........anything in Ts&Cs which is considered 'unfair' is not enforceable, because as customers we were denied the right to negotiate those Ts&Cs when we agreed to them

yep they are all well over the line and need to be pushed back. 

Hugh maybe you can use the the above approach and get your dosh earlier?

[maelzoid]

I would add also, that whenever I have got my booking fee back, the company involved has never admitted it's in error, but designated the refund a "good will gesture", which is a phrase I think usually means the exact opposite of what it appears to say.

[Dogpot]

Hi everyone,

Just an update on the situation. Despite initially saying they wouldn't, Ticketmaster have now refunded me the money for all the gigs I couldn't make. So fair play to them. I also had tickets for a gig in Germany via Eventim. They refused to refund me so as per suggestions on this thread I claimed a refund through my bank account (I had actually used my revolut) which has been successful. So cheers guys!