Advice Needed – Partial Refund for Blizzard-Affected New York Pass

JVRMac

I'm afraid it's taking a while for me to ask for help as thought I could manage with chatgpt, but now I'm feeling a bit cheated.

Me and my sister in law went to New York in February and we both purchased a 3-day Go City/New York Pass through Costco UK. We fully used day 1, but on 22nd and 23rd February severe blizzard conditions caused widespread attraction closures and cancellations.

Included attractions affected included:

Big Bus Tours not running

Rockefeller Center cancelling bookings after 2pm with no availability the next day

Madame Tussauds closed

RiseNY closed

City Cruises not operating

An official emergency weather alert was also issued from 9pm on 22 Feb until midday on 23 Feb.

I first contacted Costco on 3 March 2026 requesting a partial refund as 2 of the 3 paid days were unusable. Costco referred it to Go City, who refused because we hadn’t contacted them on the actual days to seek a resolution.

After several weeks of back and forth, Costco eventually offered a 10% goodwill refund and refused to budge on it. I finally accepted this on 13 April 2026, but the refund still wasn’t processed and I had to chase repeatedly by email and phone. Eventually they processed £17.99 plus a £10 Costco voucher as goodwill.

However, my sister in law has since received a full refund so I’ve gone back to Costco asking them to review my case again for consistency and fairness under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. However they have responded and told me the complaint has been closed as resolved and they will not be looking at it again.

I have to admit I'm a bit miffed, is there anything else I can do, or is it a case of just sucking it up and moving on?

Thank you

Aylesbury_Duck

Given that you've accepted the offer, it's done. Your sister-in-law either negotiated more skilfully/politely/diplomatically than you did or just encountered a more sympathetic ear.

JVRMac

Ah not gonna lie, it's a painful pill to swallow. Am I not able to use the consumer rights act for fairness on how they resolve disputes?

Aylesbury_Duck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82007579#Comment_82007579

I don't see how you can, the Act doesn't cover that - you only know what resolution another party received because you're related to them. There's nothing that compels a retailer to provide the exact same resolution to people with the same grievance/complaint/claim. The Act sets out what you're entitled to and there's a lot that's down to reasonableness in a situation like this where it's difficult to precisely quantify a loss. Once you've accepted a reasonable offer the matter is closed.

What's the difference in value here? Your refund was £28. What did your sister-in-law receive? Perhaps she might agree to share the resolution between you?

JVRMac

Ok thank you she received a full refund of £180.

born_again

Did they have to refund anything?

Do the T/C state that bad weather is a reason to refund.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82007579#Comment_82007579

Consumer Rights Act is UK legislation, it wouldnt apply to an in person transaction in the USA.

One of the several reasons that stuff in the UK is more expensive than the US is that we have the exceptionally generious/nanny state type legislation like the CRA whereas the US there is a lot less protection and so businesses dont need to price that in. The laws in NYC is more focused on deceptive practices and so unless the sales person said you're guaranteed access no matter what then thats a dead end.

What do the terms of the pass say? I would expect them to state that they cannot guarantee entry to all attractions and that they arent liable in the case that you can't use if where you want to.

JVRMac

Hi thanks for the responses. The pass was purchased in the UK through Costco and I believe the pass itself Go city is a British company. I believe the ts and cs say it doesnt cover weather, however when we were there the mayor of NY declared a state of emergency due to the extreme blizzard conditions and ordered a shut down of the city that covered 2 of the days of our pass, rendering them unusable.

Aylesbury_Duck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82008147#Comment_82008147

Quite a difference, I can see why you're unhappy, but there's nothing you can do about it. If I was your sister-in-law I'd split the difference.