Organiser cancelled event - wont refund or exchange ticket
Discussion
I booked 4 tickets to an even this weekend.
The event organiser put a notice out on its facebook page that the event is now cancelled but not refunds will be issued. They have not contacted any customers directly to let them know the event is cancelled. Meaning some or potentially many people will turn up tomorrow to find the event not on.
I have tried to call the organiser but they wont pick up the phone.
I have emailed them this morning asking for a refund (over £100) and they have refused, saying that they don't give refunds for cancellations.
Is this lawful?
I had at the least expected them to offer to reuse the tickets for another event later in the year, but they wont even transfer the tickets across.
Its made me not want to risk booking with them again, as they could cancel any event and just keep the money.
The event organiser put a notice out on its facebook page that the event is now cancelled but not refunds will be issued. They have not contacted any customers directly to let them know the event is cancelled. Meaning some or potentially many people will turn up tomorrow to find the event not on.
I have tried to call the organiser but they wont pick up the phone.
I have emailed them this morning asking for a refund (over £100) and they have refused, saying that they don't give refunds for cancellations.
Is this lawful?
I had at the least expected them to offer to reuse the tickets for another event later in the year, but they wont even transfer the tickets across.
Its made me not want to risk booking with them again, as they could cancel any event and just keep the money.
What kind of event are you talking about? Is it something that could be affected by the weather for example? If so, there could have been something in the small print in relation to this.
I had a similar situation with a well known running event being cancelled with no refunds being offered because it turned out that the event would have cost them more to run than they would have earned. The event organiser suggested we just run it virtually and they will send us the finish t-shirt, as you can imagine, this didn't go down well at all! Many hundreds of people took to social media and the bad press was so much, that most of us eventually got a refund. It also caught the local news and an article was published.
If it is a big events company, head to all their public platforms and share what has happened, you may get a better result than ringing them, plus the hope would be that others would join you to gain momentum. If a large well known business, local press may even pick it up if you have the energy to go down that route.
It does all come back to the small print though, so I would do some homework with regard to the info supplied to you during purchase...
I had a similar situation with a well known running event being cancelled with no refunds being offered because it turned out that the event would have cost them more to run than they would have earned. The event organiser suggested we just run it virtually and they will send us the finish t-shirt, as you can imagine, this didn't go down well at all! Many hundreds of people took to social media and the bad press was so much, that most of us eventually got a refund. It also caught the local news and an article was published.
If it is a big events company, head to all their public platforms and share what has happened, you may get a better result than ringing them, plus the hope would be that others would join you to gain momentum. If a large well known business, local press may even pick it up if you have the energy to go down that route.
It does all come back to the small print though, so I would do some homework with regard to the info supplied to you during purchase...
Edited by Evil.soup on Friday 14th July 13:54
Evil.soup said:
What kind of event are you talking about? Is it something that could be affected by the weather for example? If so, there could have been something in the small print in relation to this.
I had a similar situation with a well known running event being cancelled with no refunds being offered because it turned out that the event would have cost them more to run than they would have earned. The event organiser suggested we just run it virtually and they will send us the finish t-shirt, as you can imagine, this didn't go down well at all! Many hundreds of people took to social media and the bad press was so much, that most of us eventually got a refund. It also caught the local news and an article was published.
If it is a big events company, head to all their public platforms and share what has happened, you may get a better result than ringing them, plus the hope would be that others would join you to gain momentum. If a large well known business, local press may even pick it up if you have the energy to go down that route.
It does all come back to the small print though, so I would do some homework with regard to the info supplied to you during purchase...
They have sent through their terms and conditions which just states that in any situation of the event being cancelled that no refunds will be issued. I had a similar situation with a well known running event being cancelled with no refunds being offered because it turned out that the event would have cost them more to run than they would have earned. The event organiser suggested we just run it virtually and they will send us the finish t-shirt, as you can imagine, this didn't go down well at all! Many hundreds of people took to social media and the bad press was so much, that most of us eventually got a refund. It also caught the local news and an article was published.
If it is a big events company, head to all their public platforms and share what has happened, you may get a better result than ringing them, plus the hope would be that others would join you to gain momentum. If a large well known business, local press may even pick it up if you have the energy to go down that route.
It does all come back to the small print though, so I would do some homework with regard to the info supplied to you during purchase...
Edited by Evil.soup on Friday 14th July 13:54
What I am wondering is if this is a reasonable term and condition and is lawful or if the terms are outside of Consumer Protection Rights Act.
It appears that otherwise the organiser can cancel any event at any time and keep the money.
Its a small event.
As mentioned on my original post, I wouldnt feel so hard done by if they had said the tickets could be transferred to a later event, which whilst inconvenient, would mean all the money isnt lost.
It probably isn't reasonable.
They might be able to enforce it for specific conditions - e.g. 5 day test cricket will have clauses that if the match finishes in earlier days they don't have to refund you on day 5 for no/limited play. (Though I think in some cases they have because it is cheaper to refund than open the grounds for ticket holders given a lot won't turn up (so not viable to open bars, members lounge etc)
But I am fairly sure a general no refunds will be difficult if not impossible to enforce.
This may not help if you can't get them to pay you back without spending a fortune in court, but plausibly you can claim CC refund (at which point it would be there problem to persue you for non-payment rather than you persuing them for non-delivery of goods).
They might be able to enforce it for specific conditions - e.g. 5 day test cricket will have clauses that if the match finishes in earlier days they don't have to refund you on day 5 for no/limited play. (Though I think in some cases they have because it is cheaper to refund than open the grounds for ticket holders given a lot won't turn up (so not viable to open bars, members lounge etc)
But I am fairly sure a general no refunds will be difficult if not impossible to enforce.
This may not help if you can't get them to pay you back without spending a fortune in court, but plausibly you can claim CC refund (at which point it would be there problem to persue you for non-payment rather than you persuing them for non-delivery of goods).
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...
Section 6.8 OP
It's clear cut.
How did you pay? Not cash I'm hoping?
Section 6.8 OP
It's clear cut.
How did you pay? Not cash I'm hoping?
Nemophilist said:
Thanks, if they hold firm I will go down the bank route.
Such a shame. Its been a brilliant event that we have attended in previous years, and its not something I want to risk booking if theres so much hassle should they do this again.
Still very curious as to what the event is and if cancellation is justifiable in any way. I don't think you will be breaking any PH rules by saying what type of event it is.Such a shame. Its been a brilliant event that we have attended in previous years, and its not something I want to risk booking if theres so much hassle should they do this again.
Have they published a reason for the cancellation?
Nemophilist said:
I booked 4 tickets to an even this weekend.
The event organiser put a notice out on its facebook page that the event is now cancelled but not refunds will be issued. They have not contacted any customers directly to let them know the event is cancelled. Meaning some or potentially many people will turn up tomorrow to find the event not on.
I have tried to call the organiser but they wont pick up the phone.
I have emailed them this morning asking for a refund (over £100) and they have refused, saying that they don't give refunds for cancellations.
Is this lawful?
I had at the least expected them to offer to reuse the tickets for another event later in the year, but they wont even transfer the tickets across.
Its made me not want to risk booking with them again, as they could cancel any event and just keep the money.
They may have taken out cancelation insurance, unfortunately you are unlikely to find out.The event organiser put a notice out on its facebook page that the event is now cancelled but not refunds will be issued. They have not contacted any customers directly to let them know the event is cancelled. Meaning some or potentially many people will turn up tomorrow to find the event not on.
I have tried to call the organiser but they wont pick up the phone.
I have emailed them this morning asking for a refund (over £100) and they have refused, saying that they don't give refunds for cancellations.
Is this lawful?
I had at the least expected them to offer to reuse the tickets for another event later in the year, but they wont even transfer the tickets across.
Its made me not want to risk booking with them again, as they could cancel any event and just keep the money.
Evil.soup said:
Nemophilist said:
Thanks, if they hold firm I will go down the bank route.
Such a shame. Its been a brilliant event that we have attended in previous years, and its not something I want to risk booking if theres so much hassle should they do this again.
Still very curious as to what the event is and if cancellation is justifiable in any way. I don't think you will be breaking any PH rules by saying what type of event it is.Such a shame. Its been a brilliant event that we have attended in previous years, and its not something I want to risk booking if theres so much hassle should they do this again.
Have they published a reason for the cancellation?
Canon_Fodder said:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...
Section 6.8 OP
It's clear cut.
How did you pay? Not cash I'm hoping?
Thanks so much! Section 6.8 OP
It's clear cut.
How did you pay? Not cash I'm hoping?
Not paid in cash luckily, but by debit card. I have used my bank for chargeback on debit card purchases over this value before. If it comes to it thats the route I will go down.
Edited by Nemophilist on Friday 14th July 14:29
No, they cannot by law hold on to your money if you are unable to attend the event because they have breached their contract with you - as is the case here, because them cancelling the event breaches the contract you made when you bought a ticket that they would put the event on and you would attend.
So, they are in breach of contract and you are entitled to be put back into the position you were at (financially) before you bought the tickets - ie they must refund every penny, no excuses, no deductions for handling charges or anything else they dream up.
How did you pay? Hopefully credit or debit card?
/Al
So, they are in breach of contract and you are entitled to be put back into the position you were at (financially) before you bought the tickets - ie they must refund every penny, no excuses, no deductions for handling charges or anything else they dream up.
How did you pay? Hopefully credit or debit card?
/Al
Nemophilist said:
Not paid in cash luckily, but by debit card. I have used my bank for chargeback on debit card purchases over this value before. If it comes to it thats the route I will go down.
I'd start that process now OP. If you haven't already, write to the company requesting your refund and when you get their (negative) response you have the paper trail you'll need for the bank's refund process.Edited by Nemophilist on Friday 14th July 14:29
Canon_Fodder said:
"This document has been withdrawn. The information is out of date, did not take into account case law legislation or practices since its original publication. It should not be relied upon... yadda yadda"Canon_Fodder said:
Nemophilist said:
Not paid in cash luckily, but by debit card. I have used my bank for chargeback on debit card purchases over this value before. If it comes to it thats the route I will go down.
I'd start that process now OP. If you haven't already, write to the company requesting your refund and when you get their (negative) response you have the paper trail you'll need for the bank's refund process.Edited by Nemophilist on Friday 14th July 14:29
48k said:
Canon_Fodder said:
"This document has been withdrawn. The information is out of date, did not take into account case law legislation or practices since its original publication. It should not be relied upon... yadda yadda"alexmonkey said:
No, they cannot by law hold on to your money if you are unable to attend the event because they have breached their contract with you - as is the case here, because them cancelling the event breaches the contract you made when you bought a ticket that they would put the event on and you would attend.
So, they are in breach of contract and you are entitled to be put back into the position you were at (financially) before you bought the tickets - ie they must refund every penny, no excuses, no deductions for handling charges or anything else they dream up.
How did you pay? Hopefully credit or debit card?
/Al
Thank you, yes it was paid by debit card. So, they are in breach of contract and you are entitled to be put back into the position you were at (financially) before you bought the tickets - ie they must refund every penny, no excuses, no deductions for handling charges or anything else they dream up.
How did you pay? Hopefully credit or debit card?
/Al
Ham_and_Jam said:
Great business idea though. Issue tickets, cancel event, keep money.
Second year in a row that a company named something like "F1 Camping" took a load of money (bank transfers only, red flag right there) for Silverstone F1 camping and folded just before the event. Luckily some of the nearby sites had space but nobody got anything back.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff