Refund from Ticketmaster due to snow??

AndySk

Hi
In the worst snow that Wales has had in 25 years Ticketmaster are refusing tro discuss a refund or offer of alternative date for the Only Men Aloud concert in Cardiff tomorrow (19th December 2010)

It will be impossible to get to Cardiff without risking life and limb yet on contacting their so called customer services they almost sound gleeful in reiterating that unless the promoter cancels the concert they will not be giving a refund

I contacted the Cardiff International Arena tonight who are staging the show and the guy there was arrogant in saying it was down to the promoter and not they had no health and safety responsibilites in hosting this event even though the city is snow bound

This is a total scam - does anyone know consumer law enough to know whether this can be challenged - if it can't at the moment then it dam well needs looking at so that it can!

marleyboy

Unfortunately, this is not a scam. Unless the event in question is cancelled, not even a family funeral would get you a refund. It should clearly state on the tickets that they are non transferable and no refunds will be offered unless the concert is cancelled.

Health and Safety rules will only apply to the arena, and not the surrounding areas.

Fingers crossed, Cardiff might just get snowed in, rendering the concert cancelled, at such a short notice would mean a lot of people turning up only to be told it is cancelled, only then could you get a refund.

p00hsticks

Were you offered event insurance when your bought your tickets from TicketMaster ? and if so, did you buy it ?

If you did, check out the T&Cs as it may be covered (public transport being cancelled due to bad weather is, but I think you have to at least make an attempt to travel if you are using private transport, you can't just decide not to go)

susancs

You might find that the choir and musicians have the same problem as you have and cannot get to the venue. In that case the event would cancelled and you would be entitled to a refund. I would keep checking any information/fan websites for the choir and also contact the venue to get updates.

AndySk

Woken up after even more heavy snow - no chance of getting out to anywhere today.

I wasn't offered event insurance by the customer services guy who booked the tickets for me. I only booked on Tuesday because I was worried about the weather - bbc forecast for the weekend was sleet Friday and sunny on Saturday so went ahead and booked.

However if event insurance had been offered I would have taken it if it had been explained that it covered adverse weather

My credit card company (reluctantly) put the payment into dispute - is the fact that no event insurance was offered a good reason to back the disputed payment?
Thanks for the feedback
Andy

p00hsticks

AndySk wrote: »

is the fact that no event insurance was offered a good reason to back the disputed payment?

I can't see why - If you'd really wanted any you could have sorted some out for yourself - There's no obligation for TicketMaster to offer any. I just know that you are given the option to purchase it sometimes now if you book tickets from them online.

p00hsticks

One other thought - there have been a couple of similar threads on this forum recently (although not on this particular board, so I can't find them at present) and it was mentioned on one that some credit cards (I think Egg Money was mentioned) will provide event cover if you purchase tickets on the card.....

Fergie76

marleyboy wrote: »

Unfortunately, this is not a scam. Unless the event in question is cancelled, not even a family funeral would get you a refund. It should clearly state on the tickets that they are non transferable and no refunds will be offered unless the concert is cancelled.

Health and Safety rules will only apply to the arena, and not the surrounding areas.

Fingers crossed, Cardiff might just get snowed in, rendering the concert cancelled, at such a short notice would mean a lot of people turning up only to be told it is cancelled, only then could you get a refund.

Why not? The Police regularly put off football games because of the surrounding area, even when the pitch is playable.

Ellie100_2

I'm in a similar situation with Ticketmaster. At the start of November I bought two tickets for a gig tonight. I can't get to the gig as the snow is so bad where I live that public transport is not running. I wasn't offered insurance when I booked the tickets.

I've contacted them three times now and they refuse to offer me a refund or to change the tickets for another date. At one point they even refused to send me their postal address and details of their complaint procedure although they have now relented and sent me an address that I can write to. What annoys me more than anything is that this is beyond my control - I want to go the gig but I have no means of getting there never mind getting back home again! Police advice is also not to travel unless essential.

It seems to me that the weather is unusual in its severity and the fact that public transport is disrupted - a fact which can easily be verified by a quick internet search - so I should be entitled to a refund regardless of their standard terms and conditions. If you think about how long the bad weather has lasted and the number of people that cannot get to gigs, concerts, shows, etc I find it incredible that TicketMaster can get away with this.

I am going to contact my credit card issuer to see if they can help.

aidnolan

I'm in the same situation. I missed the Pal McCartney concert due to the weather cancelling trains and making the roads treacherous

I'm completely devastated It was a once in a lifetime gig and the tickets cost a bomb!

I only hope I can appeal to Ticketmaster or HMV tickets or somebody's sense of good will and understanding. Blind hope is all I have left!

I'm expecting a series of knock-backs, but I have to try

sb65

Ellie100 wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation with Ticketmaster. At the start of November I bought two tickets for a gig tonight. I can't get to the gig as the snow is so bad where I live that public transport is not running. I wasn't offered insurance when I booked the tickets.

I've contacted them three times now and they refuse to offer me a refund or to change the tickets for another date. At one point they even refused to send me their postal address and details of their complaint procedure although they have now relented and sent me an address that I can write to. What annoys me more than anything is that this is beyond my control - I want to go the gig but I have no means of getting there never mind getting back home again! Police advice is also not to travel unless essential.

It seems to me that the weather is unusual in its severity and the fact that public transport is disrupted - a fact which can easily be verified by a quick internet search - so I should be entitled to a refund regardless of their standard terms and conditions. If you think about how long the bad weather has lasted and the number of people that cannot get to gigs, concerts, shows, etc I find it incredible that TicketMaster can get away with this.

I am going to contact my credit card issuer to see if they can help.

Ellie,

Sorry to say but you won't get a refund. I understand your frustration. Your card company won't be able to do anything either. I am 99.9% sure about that either as these are situations that I've gone through before.