Ticketmaster Receives Backlash From ARMYs For Its "Unfair" Refund Policy
Once again, Ticketmaster's new refund policy is under fire.
Earlier in April, concertgoers called out Ticketmaster for changing their reimbursement policies secretly in retaliation to rapidly increasing refund requests due to cancellations amid COVID-19 pandemic. While other firms, such as Stubhub, scheduled to ask the government for bailout funds, Ticketmaster changed their approach to reimbursement to cater only canceled shows.
Ticketmaster previously approved refunds on events that had been delayed or canceled. After the uproar, Ticketmaster explained the change, saying that it will still be possible to provide refunds for canceled shows.
There's one catch, though.
Many ARMYs got a message from Ticketmaster on May 25 regarding BTS's canceled "Map of The Soul: 7" World Tour. The email noted that people will be able to apply for reimbursement within the next 30 days in spite of the fact that new schedules are yet to be confirmed.
Ticketmaster wrote:
"Hold on to your tickets as soon as a new schedule is confirmed and published. We'll contact you. We fully understand that you may not be capable of making it, so we coordinated with the organizer of the event to ensure that you also have some choice. There will be a 30-day chance to demand a refund.
If you insist on holding on to your tickets, a new contact will be received when either the concert event coordinator suspends or schedule changes concerning the event."
This suggests that while still in the unknown about the new schedules and changes, ARMYs will face the pressure of refunding their reserved seats or not. Without knowing the new date and time, some don't even know if they can make it to the events being postponed.
"Please keep in mind that it will be the sole window in which you could obtain a full refund unless the activity is scrapped at a later date. There apparently can't be another window with refunds once the new date has been announced," Ticketmaster said.
It comes as no surprise that concertgoers believe this policy is unjust, thinking that Ticketmaster is "scheming" to hang on to their money.
Fans are then quick to react to this policy, conveying their frustrations through the use of their social media accounts.
"I'm sorry, but Ticketmaster would have been waiting before BIG HIT announced new dates to give the 30-day reimbursement. You just have 30 days to get a reimbursement from today? How do you decide whether you should go or not because there is no date? Ticketmaster is really unfair right now."
"Ticketmaster [is] nasty for sending an email and has the audacity to grant us just 30 days for reimbursement if we wouldn't even know the new schedules yet."
Because the 30-day frame is apparently starting on the same day the email was sent and not the day when the new specific dates are officially confirmed, fans conveyed their dissatisfaction and reached out to Ticketmaster to argue their case. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, it's implausible for Big Hit Entertainment to announce new concert dates over the next 30 days.
