Am I entitled to a refund due to the pandemic?

captainlongtoes

Back in October 2019, I purchased a pair of concert tickets for July 2020 which obviously could not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic. There's no word yet as to when it will be rescheduled, can I just go ahead and request a refund from the credit card company that I used to pay for the tickets? The website does not give any information regarding refunds, only to pretty much "watch this space" regarding a rescheduled date. 

[Deleted User]

It depends on the terms of the ticket sale. 

You only have the same rights with the card as with the retailer.

What does it say with regard to postponement and rescheduling?

captainlongtoes

It looks like I'll have to wait until the concert is rescheduled to find out what my options are. Hopefully it'll be sorted out before the credit card expires in a year's time: 

The event was cancelled/postponed, how do I get a refund?

 As soon as the venue or promoter tells us that an event has been cancelled, we'll get to work on letting you know about it. 

We'll try to contact you by sending an email, so please make sure the details on your booking are up to date! If the event is cancelled, we'll issue you a refund automatically to the original payment card. 

If you have bought your tickets at the venue’s box office? Please take the tickets directly to the box office for a refund.  

If the event is rescheduled, we'll advise what options are available to you. As a general rule if you are able to attend a rescheduled date your original tickets will remain valid.

Please note – when a refund is processed, the details of the credit may be shown in your bank account statement during the same month you made the booking. If you can’t see the refund in the last few weeks of your balance, please take a moment to check further back

blue.peter

FWIW, I've bought tickets for two concerts this year, and both have been postponed until next year. I bought them from the venue box office (Symphony Hall, Birmingham). I was contacted directly by them once they had the relevant information. Now that the rescheduled dates (in 2021) are known, they've told me (by e-mail):

Your current tickets are valid for the new show.

If you have not received your tickets yet, they will be dispatched as close as possible to the rescheduled performance date. Please contact us if you haven’t received your tickets two calendar weeks before your event.

If unfortunately this date is unsuitable for you, you will be entitled to a refund. If you have your tickets and wish to obtain a refund, please post your tickets back to the address below before 1 January 2021 and e-mail boxoffice@thsh.co.uk so your refund can be processed. If you have not yet received your tickets and wish to obtain a refund, please e-mail your order confirmation number to boxoffice@thsh.co.uk.

Tickets bought on a debit/credit card will be refunded back to the card you paid with. If you purchased your tickets by any other method, or the card you paid on has expired, refunds will be made by cheque. Upon processing your refund, it can take up to 10 days before this appears on your bank statement. This, however, is dependent on your bank who may be operating slightly slower than usual given the unprecedented circumstances.

I'd expect yours to be handled similarly.

With regard to your credit card expiring next year, I don't understand why this is a problem. Do you not expect the issuer to issue a replacement card for the same account automatically? That's been what card issuers have always done for me over the last 40+ years.

SuperAllyB

I've recently had a Genesis event rescheduled from December to next April, which doesn't suit me for work reasons. Ticketmaster had a link to request a refund and the money was in my account within a week.

captainlongtoes

SuperAllyB said:

I've recently had a Genesis event rescheduled from December to next April, which doesn't suit me for work reasons. Ticketmaster had a link to request a refund and the money was in my account within a week.

This is good to know, I bought mine via Ticketmaster too, so I'll see what they say about my event. Thank you!

captainlongtoes

blue.peter said:

I'd expect yours to be handled similarly.

With regard to your credit card expiring next year, I don't understand why this is a problem. Do you not expect the issuer to issue a replacement card for the same account automatically? That's been what card issuers have always done for me over the last 40+ years.

I thought the different expiry dates might be a problem? I honestly couldn't remember if the card number remains the same!

born_again

captainlongtoes said:

blue.peter said:

I'd expect yours to be handled similarly.

With regard to your credit card expiring next year, I don't understand why this is a problem. Do you not expect the issuer to issue a replacement card for the same account automatically? That's been what card issuers have always done for me over the last 40+ years.

I thought the different expiry dates might be a problem? I honestly couldn't remember if the card number remains the same!

A refund do not need authorisation so will come through. Even if a card has been stopped and replaced due to say fraud. It will come to the old account and be passed to the new account.
A simple renewal card will make no difference what so ever.

MalMonroe

You'll only be able to claim on a credit card if the full amount of the concert is over £100.  Which may be the case, I know. But it seems that concert rearrangements and refunds are quite commonplace now, and if people can't make the rearranged dates, they do appear to be getting full refunds. I guess it just takes a while sometimes, there will be a lot of people wanting rearrangements and refunds. Just ask. 

Also it doesn't matter if your credit card has expired, you can still claim on it, so I'd not worry about that either. 

rosiesposies

similar experience with ticketmaster - tickets were refunded once new days announced but i had to request via support ticket and advise new dates wouldnt work. all in all took less than a week from raising to getting funds. 
ticketseller will just be waiting on the artists dates before allowing refund or reschedule, not holding onto funds willy nilly  

captainlongtoes

Thanks everyone