Festival tickets

HantsAgent

Hi all.

I'm hoping that someone can advise or point me in the right direction of how to deal with this.

I purchased tickets for Victorious Festival 2020. I bought the physical tickets in a local pub that the festival organisers also own/did own/are involved with in some way back in November/December 2019 for the following August's Festival. I do so most years, benefitting from the "early bird" pricing.

Covid hit and the festival got cancelled. I heard about the cancellation through the local media but I have since gone back to check and they announced it on their Facebook page on the 14th May 2020. I imagine that those people who purchased their tickets online will have received an email notifying them.

Then, on 12th June 2020, the Festival announced on Facebook their refund policy. 2020 tickets could be held on to and rolled over to 2021, or you could request a refund. Like so many businesses, they made it clear that they would prefer for people to keep their tickets.

If you did want a refund and you had physical tickets, you had a two week period to visit one of two establishments they own (pubs) to exchange your ticket for a full refund. This two week period was from 15th June  to 28th June 11am - 6pm. Bear in mind that they gave 3 days' notice of this refund policy (Facebook post, 12th June).

Now I don't use Facebook a whole lot and I don't follow the Festival's page either. So I was not aware of this refund policy. And in any event, at the time I was relatively happy to hold onto my tickets with the intention of attending in 2021, should it go ahead.

Fast-forward to now and the Festival has announced that it will go ahead in some form at the end of August.

My wife and I have discussed it and decided that we're just not comfortable with attending such an event this year. Whilst the government is hopeful (hopeful!) that it will be able to relax most restrictions on 21st June, we're just not comfortable standing shoulder to shoulder with 50,000 strangers just 5 weeks later.

I have emailed the Festival requesting a refund and I got a reasonably short "sorry, you've missed your chance" response. They're essentially saying that I have no options now, I've missed the refund window and my tickets are now valid for this year. If I'm unable to attend I can gift them to a friend (but I'm not allowed to sell them).

I am obviously planning to go back and challenge this on a number of points;
1. At the time of purchasing the tickets, no Ts & Cs were provided to me, verbally or otherwise. The tickets do state on the back that full Ts & Cs are available on their website, but I didn't have this information until after I had parted with my money. And in any case, I doubt that their Ts & Cs covered what happens in the event of a pandemic.
2. The refund window was incredibly short, rather prohibitive (what if I had been away? what if I was shielding?) and barely any notice was given of it. Further, a post on their website/Facebook page for people who had purchased physical tickets is rather like sticking a sign on a noticeboard nobody walks past.
3. I have paid for something they have not provided. I bought tickets to Victorious Festival 2020 and it didn't go ahead. I'm not sure of the Consumer Law here, but I feel like them dictating the terms of refund as they have done is not right.
4. I was trying to support the Festival by holding on to my tickets, this keeping the money in their business and hopefully enabling them to continue to deliver the Festival in years to come.

As a compromise, I may offer that they can roll my tickets over to next year, when I hope that more normality will mean we will attend.

I would be grateful for the input of anyone who is clued up on consumer law and can give me a steer on my rights in this situation.

Many thanks

gettingtheresometime

If you can 'gift' the physical tickets to a 'friend', what's to stop the 'friend' giving you cash ?

HantsAgent

gettingtheresometime said:

If you can 'gift' the physical tickets to a 'friend', what's to stop the 'friend' giving you cash ?

Re-selling the tickets is not permitted under their Ts & Cs.

I appreciate that I could try to sell them and they'd likely never find out, but there's also a supply and demand issue.

I don't know anyone who wants to attend this year, so I'd be looking at selling them online to Joe public.

I think the Festival is unlikely to sell out this year (I could be wrong) but even so, they are offering tickets now with 0% interest payment plans at something like £3 per week. So I'd say it's pretty unlikely someone will pay me face value for them when they could just buy legitimate tickets to this year's event from the organisers directly.

born_again

Given the way things are going it could well be cancelled again this year. Festivals are pulling the plug already. As they are unsure that they will be able to go ahead.

Flight3287462

So to distill this down, you were given an option of a refund which you didn't take up or to retain the tickets for this year which you chose to do.

Now you have unilaterally decided you don't want to attend this year in August and want your money back.

Good luck.

HantsAgent

Hunyani_Flight_825 said:

So to distill this down, you were given an option of a refund which you didn't take up or to retain the tickets for this year which you chose to do.

Now you have unilaterally decided you don't want to attend this year in August and want your money back.

Good luck.

Not quite, although this will no doubt be their argument.

You say I was "given the option", but if I whisper something in a crowded and noisy room is it reasonable to expect people in the next room to have heard me?

Since posting this I have continued to research and dig and I think they are difficulty on a couple of other reasons.

1. No Terms and Conditions of sale were made available to me at the time of purchase.
2. They are in breach of the terms and conditions they publish on their website which state "If we initiate a refund process under sub-paragraphs 18.a), 18.b) or 18.c) of these Conditions, the Ticket Purchaser will be advised of the process and the prescribed deadline for refund applications through the media or via direct communication within 10 working days of the cancellation or rescheduling of the Event."

They didn't make any statement about the refund process nor deadline for refunds for 21 working days until after the announcement cancelling the event.

Thanks

sheramber

 And in any event, at the time I was relatively happy to hold onto my tickets with the intention of attending in 2021, should it go ahead.
So, you wouldn't have asked for refund. 
Should you not have questioned the failure to adhere to the Terms and Conditions  at  the time rather than accepting what happened  by accepting a voucher?

HantsAgent

sheramber said:

 And in any event, at the time I was relatively happy to hold onto my tickets with the intention of attending in 2021, should it go ahead.
So, you wouldn't have asked for refund. 
Should you not have questioned the failure to adhere to the Terms and Conditions  at  the time rather than accepting what happened  by accepting a voucher?

No, in May/June 2020, as the numbers of the first pandemic for 100 years were coming down and no one had any idea that it would last as long as it has, I would probably not have asked for a refund at that point. Although if it had been pointed out to me that that would have been my only opportunity for a refund (it doesn't and never did state that, anywhere) then maybe I would have.

I came here asking for advice from people who know about consumer law, do you? If so, are you willing to help?

gettingtheresometime

I must admit I don't follow the logic - you were happy in May/June 2020 to attend in 2021 yet don't want to attend in 2021 even though we're in a far better place now.

ThumbRemote

gettingtheresometime said:

I must admit I don't follow the logic - you were happy in May/June 2020 to attend in 2021 yet don't want to attend in 2021 even though we're in a far better place now.

It may be better than last year. but its still not where many people thought we'd be

HantsAgent

Update for anyone still awake or interested;

Following a fairly lengthy email from me, the Festival organisers have agreed to refund the tickets in full.

Thank you to all who commented.