As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe, more and more concerts and festivals are being postponed. Now, fans are lashing out against Ticketmaster for their change in refund policy, as they’ll only refund tickets if an event is cancelled.
Originally, fans were able to receive refunds “if your event is postponed, rescheduled or cancelled,” Ticketmaster stated on its website a few weeks ago. However, now, an event must be cancelled to receive money back, although some concerts have no reschedule date in sight.
Ticketholders took to social media to express their frustration regarding the policy.
Hey, @Ticketmaster – you are no longer offering refunds to postponed events? Only officially cancelled ones? And the policy is RETROACTIVE?
Millions of fans would like an explanation…right now. #Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/WB3H9ReBAz
— Joel Schipper (@JSchipperWDRB) April 13, 2020
I hope ticketmaster goes bankrupt😍😍 Im so sick of those thieves constantly changing policies last minute so that they benefit😳 its absolutely revolting I think
— 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖆⁷↺ (@cranbhobi) April 13, 2020
*everyone suffering during the pandemic*
ticketmaster: hold on, let me make you suffer even more pic.twitter.com/ZYisECqOTK
— ♡ ellie ⁷ | jikook au 📝 ♡ (@jikooksbloom) April 13, 2020
ticketmaster changing their policy and not allowing refunds if a concert is postponed has to be one of the most idiotic moves ive ever seen, especially now that we’re in the middle of a pandemic. fuck ticketmaster i think.
— ♡ (@koojms) April 13, 2020
ticketmaster changing its refund policy in the middle of the pandemic to no longer offer refunds for postponed shows is the biggest finesse of 2020
— richee🍍 (@richeepeace) April 13, 2020
Ummm…..Ticketmaster changing their policy to no refunds for postponed shows is the stupidest thing ever. Do they have a specific team working against broke people who save up for events and can not afford to lose the money????pic.twitter.com/rx5qhm6fuA
— S⁷ 🦋 (@JINius_1) April 14, 2020
whoever at ticketmaster was like “guys i bet they won’t find out if we pull a fast one and change the refund policy in the wake of a global pandemic”… you are a special kind of evil
— Tanay Patri (@TanayPatri) April 14, 2020
According to The New York Times, Ticketmaster acknowledged that it made changes to its website once the coronavirus pandemic caused the touring business to come to a grinding halt last month, however, it noted that the company’s underlying refund policy has not changed. Before customers hit “accept” when buying tickets, a note from Ticketmaster says that refunds are processed automatically for cancellations, but event organizers may place “limitations” on refunds when gigs are postponed or rescheduled.
“In the past, with a routine volume of event interruptions, we and our event organizers have been able to consistently offer more flexibility with refunds for postponed and rescheduled events,” Ticketmaster said in a statement. “However, considering the currently unprecedented volume of affected events, we are focused on supporting organizers as they work to determine venue availability, new dates and refund policies, while rescheduling thousands of events in what continues to be an evolving situation.”
Ticketmaster isn’t alone. Late last month, StubHub announced a change to its refund policy and said it would offer vouchers worth 120% of a ticket, rather than a refund. This caused widespread anger from fans, since a lot of ticketholders were hoping for a refund during this financial crisis. One man in Wisconsin sued StubHub. In a statement, StubHub said that due to the huge number of cancelled concerts, it’s simply not possible to refund customers at this time.
“The complications that arise, and just the magnitude of this timing challenge, is frankly challenging for any intermediary in the normal course of practice,” StubHub President Sukhinder Singh Cassidy said in an interview with The Times. “When practically speaking, that normal course no longer exists.”
A new report from Pollstar shows that the live entertainment industry is taking a hard hit from the pandemic; revenue this year is expected to be down as much as $9 billion – an unparalleled crisis in the industry’s history.
Last Updated on April 14, 2020
17 Comments
Comments are closed.
we are doing hundreds of chargebacks right now, we have screenshots of the original policy at the time of purchase our credit card companies say there is no way they can get away with this, so do your chargebacks.
Ticketmaster has all the funds on hand necessary for refunds for postponed events as artists do not get paid from those funds until the performance takes place.
ticket bastard has always plagued the entertainment industry…time for everyone to boycott these ripoff artists…we can just stream everything an put them pout of biz…boycott ticket bastard!
Firstly i wish you luck. just beware that any cancellation will be likely followed by the canceling of every single ticket bought on that account so it could roll over onto unintended events. Challenging 100’s of purchases just might impact your ability to secure future credit cards. just like you cant believe everything a TM rep tells you, dont believe everything a voice on the phone tells you
I never wrote my credit card for this kind of problem. Can you please provide me a professional letter with keywords so I know what to ask for besides it is postponed and the policy was changed in the mist of the pandemic. I have returned tickets in the past when shows were postponed. I had no problem returning tickets in the 16 years of selling tickets. Thank you [email protected].
Ticketmaster is still selling tickets to many concerts with the original date on the page even though the band’s website has already said the concert is postponed date to be determined.for rescheduled concert. This should be illegal and brought to the attention of the attorney general’s office in every state.
They will never get away with this one. The CC companies will crucify them. Wait until the Government sets a limit on their ticket fees. Goodbye TM!
Vivid seats is just as rotten. I am so angry. They refuse to refund my money. I was supposed to see Elton John on April 18th. I don’t want to wait 2 years to get my money’s worth. I couldn’t even speak to a manager at vivid seats. They simply wouldn’t bother to entertain my frustration at their policy. I wish I could cancel through my credit card company.
Why does this surprise anyone? Force them to refund all postponed / rescheduled events, and you’re talking close to 1000% of their revenue … Yes, 1000 , not 100, because they don’t keep the majority of a ticket sale. OK so – they demand refunds from the promoters, venues big and small so they can make refunds, and… How much of that will they actually be able to gather? Twenty cents on the dollar maybe? What is your ticket to a postponed event going to be worth when TM files for bankruptcy? Sucks, but there really isn’t an option.
@James – Really? Do they really? How do you think events are planned, venues rented, roadies paid, etc? Suggesting they retain anywhere near 100% is silly.
Chargeback City!!
Fuck Ticketmaster, those scum wanted a complete monopoly on the Ticket industry? well these are the drawbacks, I do not care if it costs them 100 Million Dollars, people are entitled to a refund
If find these comments hilarious! Everybody wants to point a finger at everyone else without taking responsibility for their own actions. Who in their right mind thinks that TicketMASTER has an endless pit of money they can refund to every ticket purchased in the last 6 months for shows in the future. TicketMaster does not hold onto your funds until the show is over! What about all the other people who need to get paid in advance of a show that rely on that single ticket purchase. TicketMaster is just a tool to sell tickets and only one component of the whole ticket purchase price. They get paid a small fee for selling tickets! You people are so stupid. If they were to refund everyone their money they would be bankrupt instantly. In the end its the consumer that bears the burden. Always has been and always will be. Scream all you want its people like you and me that will lose out. And Ticketmaster as well…. if they are even around when this is all over.
Thanks Trent for being a person of reason! The only one on here that gets it.
start and sign a petition. This is BS It’s a world wide pandemic of a killer virus. whats wrong with these people they are blame the artist and promoters. If cruise lines can issue refunds and vouchers so can TicketMasters . They own me over 400.00 which I could use right now.
TM can’t afford to refund everyone at once because their funds are tied up with the promoters, venues, artists.. OK, got it. Now, does anyone not see the giant elephant in the room here??? Before getting into that, let’s get one thing out of the way first. Few artists see upfront money from ticket sales. The overwhelming majority of them aren’t paid until the show is completed. This should not be used as an excuse. As for the promoters receiving money, need I remind you all who the largest concert promotion company on earth is? The promotion company that takes in the most money from Ticketmaster sales. I’ll give you a hint, they also own Ticketmaster. That company is Livenation!!! This is the same company that has for years been overspending on exclusive artist and venue contracts by outbidding competitors. They’ve been accumulating so much debt over the years building up their monopoly, they still haven’t turned an actual fiscal year profit. Now that the cash registers are closed for the foreseeable future, their marketing funds have been spent for events and tours that will never take place, they suddenly find themselves overleveraged with endless overpriced contracts. They can’t afford to pay back their own company Ticketmaster, which means Ticketmaster can’t afford to pay back its customers. Sounds almost like a business built on a house of cards, doesn’t it?
Mark, not according to my credit card companies that I have had for over 20 years, they are all pissed off that they are having to do Ticketmaster’s work. If will be Ticketmaster that has trouble being a recognized merchant after this debacle , they can cancel every ticket as far as I ‘m concerned I have no intention of purchasing from them in the future so bring on my refunds.