NSW consumers urged to check eligibility for ticket refunds

Consumers in NSW seeking refunds for rescheduled or cancelled ticketed events are being urged to check their eligibility details in sellers' conditions.

Advising that while overall complaints to NSW Fair Trading have halved since March last year, ticketing issues remain a concern for consumers, making up nearly one third of complaints recorded on the complaints register for March 2022.

Explaining that that with events rescheduled multiple times during the pandemic, consumers have experienced delays in receiving refunds, difficulties contacting ticket sellers, and refunds being provided to closed accounts, NSW Minister for Fair Trading, Eleni Petinos stated today "as live music, art and festivals return with a bang, consumers should remain vigilant and always read the fine print to avoid any unwanted surprises.

“In some cases, customers may not be aware that refunds are actually offered by a third party. For instance, Ticketek provides some refunds through Refund Protect.

“Make sure you are purchasing tickets from authorised sellers. If you buy from an unauthorised reseller you could lose your right to a refund or exchange if the event is postponed or cancelled."

In the wake of last week's Federal Court ruling that Viagogo pay a $7 million penalty for misleading Australian consumers, Minister Petinos added "we are warning consumers not to deal with overseas based reseller Viagogo. This is a timely reminder as the company continues to advertise in Australia, selling tickets at inflated prices.”

This follows the NSW Government having issued a public warning about consumers purchasing tickets through Viagogo in January this year.

NSW Fair Trading added that it encourages businesses struggling to manage cancellations to contact customers wherever possible, to advise them of how their requests are being handled.

Image: Performance at the Sydney Recital Hall. Credit: Dianne Reeves/Keith Saunders.