Concert Ticket Holders Struggle To Get Refunds

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) – Coronavirus has pretty much shut down the live concert industry, and it's not clear when it will be safe to return to those big event gatherings. Some ticket holders want to get their tickets refunded, but some new rules are holding up the money.

"I've been a fan of theirs since I was a tiny little kid," said Greg Rogers, as he hold two tickets for The Who's concert that never happened.

Rogers and his partner, Kathy Potucek, are disappointed that they won't get to see their favorite band, but now they want their money back. They spent about $481 on the tickets, and that money would help them right now.

"We don't know what their objective is with our money. It should be to get it back to us, but it seems like they have some alternative motive," Rogers told CBS4.

Potucek has called TicketOffices.com several times over the last few weeks, and every time she gets a different response.

"I did talk to a supervisor one time, and they told me they were having problems refunding The Who tickets, and it was going to be another month or so," Potucek explained.

But the month has gone by, and still no refund. On the TicketOffices.com Website, under the COVID-19 FAQ section, it says concerts that are cancelled will be compensated. It goes on to say that they do not refund postponed or rescheduled events, regardless of the length of time for the postponement or rescheduled date.

All the major ticket sellers adopted similar policies in April. Many concerts and tours have not been officially cancelled, so that effectively ties up millions of dollars in ticket refunds.

On The Who's Website, they don't use the word "cancelled", but it does say, "…the remaining dates of The Who: Moving On US Tour will no longer be happening. Tickets will automatically be refunded at point of purchase…" An indication that Rogers and Potucek are due their money back.

"What I honestly hope would happen is somebody at this place would see this and say, 'We actually need to starting getting people's money back to them,'" Rogers said.