Ticketek Responds Amid Refund Backlash

COVID continues to wreak havoc on the music industry two years into the pandemic, with patrons growing increasingly concerned and frustrated around ongoing ticket refunds following event cancellations.

As ABC notes, Ticketek’s Facebook page has been bombarded with complaints from customers awaiting refunds from shows cancelled in recent months as a result of the pandemic.

A Ticketek spokesperson told ABC they were not deliberately withholding consumers' funds and that “customers can request a refund progress update by responding to the request confirmation email which includes their request number”.

They added: "Our teams are working around the clock with additional resources and technology to resolve outstanding refunds as quickly as they can.”

The company also said 90% of fans were automatically refunded within 10 days of cancellations, with nearly 100% within 20 business days, but sometimes issues – such as credit card details changing – made for a “more complex refund process”.

Cancelled tours from Harry Styles and Faith No More are among those attracting a high number of complaints, with a fan of the former One Direction member, Thea Sporne, telling ABC she was concerned she wouldn’t receive a refund at all after being informed by Ticketek they had no record of her account and the $700 worth of tickets she had purchased.

Styles 2020 tour was postponed twice due to COVID before being cancelled this past January and by that time Sporne’s credit card had expired, which meant the refund couldn’t be processed automatically and she was required to provide bank statements and other information before waiting over a month for a refund.

Another gripe customers have is Ticketek’s automated responses, which are being dished out in record numbers as the ticketing giant says its processing 20 times more refunds than it did pre-COVID.