Event postponed-no refunds

rick_59

Hi; a running event has been postponed and I cannot attend any of the alternative days, nor do I wish to transfer my entry to a different run event or to a friend.  The organisers website states that "Sorry, we don't offer refunds." and goes on to tell me about being able to transfer the entry.  I am unaware that I agreed to a non-refundable transaction at the time, and it is only now that having been informed of the postponement that I had occasion to look at the organiser's website which states this.  If, through no fault of my own, I simply cannot attend the re-arranged dates, and do not wish to participate in any of their other events, can they truly withhold my entry fee?  The only reason I signed up for this particular event was because it was to help an organisation I wish to support, therefore transferring to some other random event is not something I want to do.  Thanks,

Aylesbury_Duck

rick_59 said:

Hi; a running event has been postponed and I cannot attend any of the alternative days, nor do I wish to transfer my entry to a different run event or to a friend.  The organisers website states that "Sorry, we don't offer refunds." and goes on to tell me about being able to transfer the entry.  I am unaware that I agreed to a non-refundable transaction at the time, and it is only now that having been informed of the postponement that I had occasion to look at the organiser's website which states this.  If, through no fault of my own, I simply cannot attend the re-arranged dates, and do not wish to participate in any of their other events, can they truly withhold my entry fee?  The only reason I signed up for this particular event was because it was to help an organisation I wish to support, therefore transferring to some other random event is not something I want to do.  Thanks,

Who's the retailer of the event?

rick_59

Hi...the organiser is Run Through.

TELLIT01

They may be able to say 'No refunds' if the event goes ahead on the original date, but I very much doubt they can shift the date and still say no refunds.  If the amount was over £100 and you paid by credit card, contact the CC provider.  If you paid by debit card, contact your bank and see if chargeback applies.

rick_59

Sorry, should also have mentioned that it is in support of Chester Zoo, with 25% of the entry fee going to them.

Manxman_in_exile

rick_59 said:

Sorry, should also have mentioned that it is in support of Chester Zoo, with 25% of the entry fee going to them.

So ... ?     

arthurfowler

I think it is far harder to get refunds on events that are postponed. As long as the postponement is in a reasonable amount of time and it doesn't cause you too much inconvenience, it doesn't have to be refunded I believe. Someone else may know more. 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/55

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/56

Aylesbury_Duck

rick_59 said:

Sorry, should also have mentioned that it is in support of Chester Zoo, with 25% of the entry fee going to them.

That's irrelevant to your consumer rights.  What Run Through do with their revenue is their concern.

As I understand it, they have breached the contract so you are entitled to a full refund.  In practice though, a lot of events, trips and so on have been postponed or cancelled in the pandemic and people have found it impossible to get their money back.  Small claims court is an option, but not for a trivial amount, and it will take time because I believe there's a backlog.

ThumbRemote

arthurfowler said:

I think it is far harder to get refunds on events that are postponed. As long as the postponement is in a reasonable amount of time and it doesn't cause you too much inconvenience, it doesn't have to be refunded I believe. Someone else may know more. 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/55

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/56

The legislation you quote is for cases where the consumer requires a service to be carried out again, e.g. for building work that was not completed correctly at first. 

The legislation says "If the consumer requires such repeat performance" (emphasis mine)
Consumer requires - this is for the consumer to choose, not the service provider
Repeat performance - in the OPs case there has been no initial service performed to repeat 

lucy03

I know the organisers of a few similar events, and they all just refund if someone pushes them enough (because the card company will refund the individual for anyone who paid in that way) as very few people actually do. Realistically, it's a huge financial headache for an event organiser and I suspect it's a numbers game that as long as most people are happy with the transfer, it's all OK for everyone. If they pro-actively offered refunds they'd likely have real financial issues. I'd message them politely and privately and say that you really can't do the event on the different day and on this occasion you'd appreciate a refund.

rick_59

Manxman_in_exile said:

rick_59 said:

Sorry, should also have mentioned that it is in support of Chester Zoo, with 25% of the entry fee going to them.

So ... ?     

context; since a previous responder asked who the organiser was and I had also mentioned that it was in support of a particular organisation.  So, yeah, just context.