Ticketmaster rewords refund policy as coronavirus disrupts events. Fans are fuming

A rewritten refund policy at Ticketmaster has some fans furious as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts concerts, sports and other events, The New York Times reports.

The online ticket sales giant originally offered refunds for events that are canceled, postponed or rescheduled, but the site now promises refunds only for canceled events, Digital Music News reported.

Customers can now receive refunds for postponed or rescheduled events only if the organizer offers them, Ticketmaster says on its site.

Ticketmaster argues it hasn’t changed its refund policy, however — just clarified it, The New York Times reports.

But some fans are still fuming.

More than 1.9 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 118,000 deaths as of April 13, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 570,000 confirmed cases with more than 23,000 deaths.

The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 virus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.

As a result, people with season passes or advance tickets for upcoming events — and services such as Ticketmaster and StubHub — are in limbo.

“It’s a disaster,” said Tony Knopp, CEO of TicketManager, which helps companies manage tickets for entertaining clients, USA Today reports.

“I have about $3,000 tied up in these tickets,” said Tami Combs of Indiana, who had purchased tickets to see the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Chicago and Sturgill Simpson this year but now can’t get a refund, The New York Times reports.

“This is my money that they are holding hostage,” Combes said, according to the publication.

She’s not alone. Some are especially angry that Ticketmaster appeared to quietly change its refund policy just as a wave of postponements and cancellations hit.

“Ticketmaster secretly changing its policies to not grant refunds sounds like the perfect excuse for a class-action lawsuit to burn their wretched system to the ground and dance on the ashes,” wrote one person on Twitter.

“One of my shows was postponed to a date that i wont be able to go to... you’re saying i wont get a refund of $120???” reads another Twitter post, followed by some profane commentary on Ticketmaster.

StubHub, a ticket reseller, also has come into criticism for a similar policy, USA Today reports.

“If the event is postponed, ticket buyers can choose to either attend the event on the new date or resell the ticket,” StubHub said in a statement, according to the publication. “If the event is postponed to a future, undetermined date, StubHub will email the ticket holder as soon as the details are announced.”

A Chicago man has sued StubHub over another policy offering vouchers instead of cash refunds for canceled events, The New York Times reported.

This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Ticketmaster rewords refund policy as coronavirus disrupts events. Fans are fuming."