Ticketmaster sparks controversy with coronavirus refund policy
Furious fans have hit out at Ticketmaster after the website seemingly changed its refund policy to only cover events that have been cancelled due to coronavirus.
The ticketing site previously allowed customers to claim a refund if an event had been cancelled, postponed or rescheduled.
But Ticketmaster appears to have quietly altered its terms to cover only those events that have been cancelled, potentially leaving thousands of fans out of pocket.
A statement on the company’s website reads: “If your event has been cancelled, there’s nothing you need to do. We’ll get in touch with you directly with more information.”
“If your event has been rescheduled, we are working with the event organiser to identify new dates and we will contact you as soon as we have confirmation and more information on this.”
Ticketmaster said it would not offer refunds or exchanges for events that were going ahead on the date originally planned, and encouraged customers to resell their tickets using its site.
The company makes money from fees charged on ticket reselling but does not need to pay sellers until after the event has taken place, meaning the strategy allows it to hold more cash in the company.
For reorganised events, existing tickets will remain valid. Customers will be able to request a refund if they cannot attend the new date.
But the move sparked anger from fans who complained the firm was making it difficult for customers to obtain refunds.
“Absolutely disgusting from @TicketmasterUK you should be refunding tickets regardless whether the date is postponed or cancelled,” wrote one Twitter user.
“If the date is postponed and people cannot make the new one you should automatically refund them. It’s not their fault they can on longer attend.”
Others slammed Ticketmaster for its “sly move” and called for a boycott of the company.
It comes as the coronavirus crisis devastates the live entertainment industry as thousands of events have been cancelled or postponed due to lockdown measures.
Ticketmaster declined to comment.