Concert Ticket - Refund?

weby72

My youngest daughter's friend - 15 years old - was tasked with buying tickets to one of the Taylor Swift concerts for the 4 pals. After rejecting the first 4 offered, she tried again  thought she'd secured 4 great seats and bought for £660.

She's now realised that she's bought 1 top-priced package for that price. 

The way site (AXS) works is that you select the number of tickets you need, then select the category/package. She did this initially, but the problem is that, if you release the offered tickets back and try for different ones, the options default to 1 ticket for the top-rated package. She hadn't noticed this (you're against the clock, too)

To say she's distraught would be an understatement. This is a 15 year old girl, a massive Taylor Swift fan, who feels she's let her friends down, never mind not being able to go (she doesn't want to be sat amongst strangers) to see her idol.

Her mum has spoken with AXS to explain the situation, but AXS have told her that no refunds are possible. The company's/site's T&C's do state no refunds or exchanges.

I know that distance buying laws don't cover concert tickets*, but does she have any recourse to any other legislation on this? 

Any assistance would be appreciated.



* They don't apply to services, although the concert package does include goods (merchandise like bag, prints, lanyard, etc) so is this perhaps an 'in'?

Aylesbury_Duck

Isn't this a case of her being too young to enter into the contract, and therefore that it's invalid?  Or was she sat with an adult and they did it for/with her?

Was she using an adult's debit/credit card?  With consent?  It could get messy.

tightauldgit

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Isn't this a case of her being too young to enter into the contract, and therefore that it's invalid?  Or was she sat with an adult and they did it for/with her?

Was she using an adult's debit/credit card?  With consent?  It could get messy.

Yeah that was my first thought - perhaps you can invalidate the contract because she's a minor - or else at least shame them a bit for taking £660 off a child for a concert ticket she bought by mistake. Papers/Social Media?

Can the ticket be resold? If so I imagine you'd have a route to get your money back as there will be plenty of demand for tickets.

One other thought - if she's under 18 would she even be allowed to enter the concert venue without an adult accompanying her? If they've knowingly sold a ticket that couldn't be used to an unaccompanied minor could that be a route to invalidate it?  

weby72

Hi thanks for the feedback.

The card was her own - she's apparently been saving up for months from her part-time job. Her mum did say this (that she was only 15) to AXS and they basically told her 'tough'.

The 4 of them would be 16 by the time the concert rolls round next June.

GrumpyDil

If you have legal cover that she can make use of might be worth having a word with them. 

As others have alluded to there are rules about minors being able to enter into contracts. In essence due to her age you could argue that she did not have legal capacity to enter into a contract to buy the ticket.

It's a technical argument but possibly worth trying as she has nothing to lose. 

tightauldgit

If it was Ticketmaster I think you'd be clearer as their terms seem cut and dried.

3.1 In order to make a purchase from us, you must be at least 18 years old (or the age of legal capacity in the country of purchase) and able to enter into legally binding contracts. If you are purchasing online, you must also have a Ticketmaster account and a valid credit or debit card issued in your name

I don't see how a 15 year old could be in a legally binding contract with Ticketmaster but I presume the same rules must apply to other sites.

AXS seems a bit more grey:

"By using the Site, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age or, if under the age of 18, you have the consent of your parent or legal guardian to use the Site. If purchasing a ticket on the Site you must be at least 18 years of age or, if under the age, you must be at least 13 and have the consent of your parent or legal guardian to make a purchase" 

Looking at a netlawman.co.uk gives:

"A minor can therefore, enter into a contract. However, the law also assumes that a minor cannot understand the implications of a contract. So, whatever caveat is drafted into the contract, they will remain protected to the disadvantage of the other party.

Further, a contract with a minor is voidable. That means they are able to cancel any contract at any time before reaching the age of 18 and for a reasonable period after that time. There is no requirement for them to have a justifiable reason for this, it can be done on a whim or where it may be advantageous to the child to do so.

Problems arise unexpectedly. It is obvious that a child cannot get a credit card in their own name, but they could borrow or steal one. You may be unable to enforce a contract on a borrowed card unless you could prove that it was a term of the agreement that the person was over 18 years old. The sale of goods on a stolen card would be void from the outset."

Can any contract therefore be voided? Probably worth getting some advice from the bank that issued the card and point out you did not give permission to spend £600 on one ticket and that it was an error anyway. 

Alderbank

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/10/taylor-swift-eras-tour-presale-tickets-viagogo-resale-price-fans-angry

Many people would admire your daughter's youngest friend for being an astute businesswoman - that premium ticket she managed to buy for about £660 is already worth more than £2,300 and still going up.

Ethically it's more nuanced. I have great sympathy with those in this Guardian article describing the whole affair of selling these tickets to youngsters as a 'sh!tshow'.

weby72

Thanks for your help - it looks genuinely sound advice (special thanks for that part of the T&Cs) and I'll pass on the suggestions. 

We did tell her mum to investigate whether they had free legal advice provided through union/insurance/bank/etc but I'll remind them. 

weby72

Update - the girl's mum emailed AXS and mentioned the legality of a contract with an under-18. They were actually fine about it and cancelled/refunded. Maybe the call centre person had had a bad day or was just given a script to strictly stick to.

tightauldgit

weby72 said:

Update - the girl's mum emailed AXS and mentioned the legality of a contract with an under-18. They were actually fine about it and cancelled/refunded. Maybe the call centre person had had a bad day or was just given a script to strictly stick to.

I think generally call centre staff simply aren't well trained and either don't think of or don't want to have to deal with things like this so they just stick to the basic information they've been given that they dont do refunds. 

Or maybe AXS have read the article about how the £600 tickets are changing hands for £2000 and are happy to get one more to sell  

Good that it's been resolved. I presume they can't get the tickets they did want now?