Advice please - consumer rights

warnski

Hi

I recently purchased early bird tickets to a music festival taking place next August.

The company that promotes the festival has sadly gone into liquidation, although publicly they have stated that they are still intent on planning next year's event and sorting out their problems.

As I paid for my earlybird tickets using Mastercard, can anyone tell me if this provides an extra level of insurance (as I'm sure I remember reading in past MSE articles).

If so, how long does this insurance last for? I'm assuming it will be null and void by next August.

Thanks in advance

poggles

warnski wrote: »

Hi

I recently purchased early bird tickets to a music festival taking place next August.

The company that promotes the festival has sadly gone into liquidation, although publicly they have stated that they are still intent on planning next year's event and sorting out their problems.

As I paid for my earlybird tickets using Mastercard, can anyone tell me if this provides an extra level of insurance (as I'm sure I remember reading in past MSE articles).

If so, how long does this insurance last for? I'm assuming it will be null and void by next August.

Thanks in advance

I'm sorry but I don't understand your post at all. Perhaps you don't fully understand the situation.

But if a company has gone into liquidation, there's no coming back. The company cannot sort out it's problems so they have appointed a liquidator to make the best of a bad job. i.e. sell what they can, get whatever they can for the creditors and then dissolve the company.

Don't waste any time. Ceratinly do not wait until next August. Speak to the credit card company who may be able to help you (as they may be equally liable under S75 of the consumer credit act) and if not, lodge your claim with the appropriate person(s) as an unsecured creditor of the company.

What is the name of the company that has gone into liquidation? Which music festival did you hope to have bought tickets for?

Consumerist

warnski wrote: »

. . . As I paid for my earlybird tickets using Mastercard, can anyone tell me if this provides an extra level of insurance . . .

If EACH ticket cost between £100 and £30,000 then you are covered by section 75 of CCA. If this is the case then I agree with poggles that you should make your claim straight-away.

InsideInsurance

warnski wrote: »

As I paid for my earlybird tickets using Mastercard, can anyone tell me if this provides an extra level of insurance (as I'm sure I remember reading in past MSE articles).

If so, how long does this insurance last for? I'm assuming it will be null and void by next August.

There is no "insurance", unless your card issuer happens to offer anything.

What it sounds like you are thinking of is Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act which makes a credit provider jointly liable for the product/ service with the merchant assuming the values fall within the scope of it. Obviously if its a Mastercard Debit Card then there is no S75 cover as there is no credit

There is no time limit on S75 itself but the liability of the merchant will predominately be covered by the Law of Limitations which in England is basically 6 years for most things.

If they have gone into liquidation then its a done deal, they've gone and wont be doing any more. If they've gone into administration then it may be that they get turned around and continue as an ongoing concern.

What is key is checking if the values are sufficient to get S75 protection or not, if you dont then sadly you want to act now whilst still within the time limits of the Chargeback rules. If it is covered by S75 then you could if you wanted wait and see what happens.

warnski

Thanks for the advice

Incidentally the festival is Galtres in North Yorkshire.

I sincerely hope the festival is on again next year, not just because of my tickets, but because it's a bloody good festival. I've had better times there than at any of the larger music festivals I've been to.

Currently, the official line is that The Galtres Festival Charitable Foundation is planning a festival in 2015, despite the fact that Galtres Festival Trading Ltd has ceased trading.

Aquamania

warnski wrote: »

... despite the fact that Galtres Festival Trading Ltd has ceased trading.

There is no indication at Companies House that the business has gone into liquidation

As a Private Company limited by guarantee, I'd get your claim in now if you think they are no longer trading and/or will not be providing the tickets you paid for.

Looks like the police are involved too
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/ryedale/11488207.Police_probe_claims_by_Galtres_Festival_traders/

It may be worth speaking with them too.

Edit:
According to the website terms

The contract entered into at the point of ticket purchase for 2015 is between the purchaser and Crucial Events Promotion Ltd.

http://www.galtresfestival.org.uk/shop/terms-and-conditions.cfm

Crucial Events Promotion Ltd. is not currently in liquidation either.

Perhaps you should contact them
(It too is run by the same sole director as Galtres Festival Trading Ltd.)


Edit2:

Also interesting to note

A statement by event organiser James Houston [who, if you remember, is also the sole director of Galtres Festival Trading Ltd] says, "Plans for a 2015 festival over the August bank holiday weekend are well-underway. It will be difficult to upstage this year’s event, which received rave reviews, but we’re going to try our best. We expect to be announcing the first of our headliners before Christmas."

Foundation Trustee Jane Johnson is quoted as adding, "It’s been tough going in recent years to make this event pay for itself. Successive years of bad weather haven’t helped. We’ve decided that the best thing for the future is to start anew, safeguarding revenues and focusing on improving the business model.

"We believe that the event potentially has a highly profitable future, provided a check is kept on costs, and sales continue to grow. The festival’s popularity is at an all-time high, and if we can capitalise on that popularity the event will have a bright and prosperous future.

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/14/140913b.shtml

So probably worth getting the facts clarified first, to see if there is currently any basis for any claim

agrinnall

According to the website Advance tickets for 2014 were £95, so inflation might have pushed that above £100 for 2015, although perhaps the early bird discount means that in fact they are still below £100 and therefore wouldn't come under S75 cover.

Aquamania

agrinnall wrote: »

According to the website Advance tickets for 2014 were £95, so inflation might have pushed that above £100 for 2015, although perhaps the early bird discount means that in fact they are still below £100 and therefore wouldn't come under S75 cover.

Earlybird ticket prices for 2015 were as follows just before they sold out:

Adult weekend ticket (earlybird) £78.00

Young person (5-15) weekend ticket (earlybird) £31.50

Family weekend ticket: 2 + 3(earlybird) £219.00

Under fives weekend ticket £0.00

http://www.galtresfestival.org.uk/shop/productDetails.cfm?ProductID=789&

(they stated out a liitle cheaper e.g the £78 adult ticket started at £75, but went up £1 per week. Other tickets went up pro-rata)

warnski

agrinnall wrote: »

According to the website Advance tickets for 2014 were £95, so inflation might have pushed that above £100 for 2015, although perhaps the early bird discount means that in fact they are still below £100 and therefore wouldn't come under S75 cover.

I bought several on behalf of my partner and friends, so spent over £300.

Does S75 only apply to individual item price, and not transaction amount?

Consumerist

Assuming you used a Mastercard credit card (as opposed to a debit card) then s75 protection applies to each individual item costing between £100 and £30,000. Unfortunately, it does not necessarily apply to the total purchase amount.

Edit
From the <FOS> site (financial limits):

Section 75 sets a number of financial limits for the transactions it covers. It does not apply to a claim which relates to any single item to which the supplier has attached a cash price of less than £100 or more than £30,000