Concert Cancelled and They Won’t Refund You? That’s Not Legal

You paid $460 for two tickets plus the mysterious “booking fee” and “delivery fee” for tickets that were emailed to you. The festival got cancelled a week out. The organiser sends a cheery email: “Your tickets have been converted to a credit for next year’s event!”

You didn’t ask for a credit. You asked for a concert. Neither of those things happened, so you want your money.

You are entitled to a refund, full stop

When you buy a ticket, you are buying a service: entry to an event on a set date. If the event does not happen, the service was not supplied. Under the Australian Consumer Law:

• Section 60 and 61 – the service must be delivered with care and skill and be fit for the purpose. A cancelled show is not any kind of service.
• Section 267 – if the service cannot be provided, you can cancel and claim a refund of what you paid.

A credit voucher is not a refund. Offering one is fine. Forcing one is not. The ACCC has said this publicly and repeatedly, especially since the pandemic era of “credits” that quietly expired.

What about the “fees”?

Booking fees, delivery fees, “processing” fees: if the event was cancelled by the organiser, you are entitled to those back too. You paid them to receive a service you never got. The ticket seller will argue their terms say fees are non-refundable. Terms that try to strip your ACL rights are void, and can be unfair contract terms in their own right.

Who to chase

Chase the party you paid. If you paid Ticketek, Moshtix, Humanitix or the venue’s own site, they are the supplier. They can sort out their own recovery from the promoter behind the scenes.

Steps

• Screenshot the cancellation notice and your receipt.
• Reply in writing: “I decline the credit. I require a full refund including all fees within 7 days, as required by s 267 of the ACL.”
• If you paid by card, lodge a chargeback for “service not provided” at the same time.
• No refund? Send a Letter of Demand.

Why the letter matters

Ticket companies process refunds in bulk when they are forced to and drag their feet when they are not. A formal Letter of Demand with the ACL sections, a 14-day deadline, and a tribunal warning moves you from the “maybe later” pile into the “pay now” pile. If they still don’t pay, the next step is a tribunal claim.

A cancelled gig is disappointing. Being told to accept a credit for a festival that might not even run next year is insulting. You don’t have to accept it.

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.