Plett Rage ticket-holders concerned over refund policy

Organisers of the popular Plett Rage student festival, now due to take place in January, have shed some light on their refund policy after an outcry from ticket-holders.

Some ticket-holders were shocked to find out that only a portion of their ticket price would be refunded should they not be able to attend.

Festival owner Ronen Klugman said that while they had always had a refund policy, 2019’s was slightly different.

He explained that should festivalgoers feel unsafe attending as result of any Covid-19 comorbidities, they would receive 75% of the ticket price back, provided they showed medical proof.

The event, which usually takes place in December, was postponed to January 29 so that it falls out of the “season” to minimise the congestion of visitors, but some tertiary institutions already would have started their academic year.

“We understand that those students won’t be able to attend and therefore we would provide them with a 75% refund as well,” Klugman said.

This was on condition that they presented their university or college admission letters.

In terms of other cancellations, Klugman said that a 50% refund would apply should the cancellation be 11 months ahead of the festival, 25% up to 30 days before the event and no refund thereafter.

Should the event be cancelled, a scenario organisers are trying to avoid, ticket-holders will receive a ticket for when the event is able to be held.

Klugman said it was impossible to provide a full refund for a number of reasons, including that the ticket distributor took a 10% cut of the proceeds.

He said a lot of work also went on behind the scenes to organise the event, which has been in the making for more than a year, and staff needed to be paid.

Consumer expert Wendy Knowler said there were two sides of the coin in terms of refunds in this case.

“Should a ticket-holder not be able to attend by no fault of their own, they should not have to jump through hoops to receive a 100% refund,” Knowler said.

The other side was that organisers found themselves the victims of circumstance because of Covid-19.

“It is especially difficult for businesses operating in the tourism and events sectors that are on the brink of collapse as a result of the pandemic.”

Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) Magauta Mphahlele shared Knowler’s sentiments.

She said consumer protection laws always tried to balance the rights of consumers and suppliers.

“The CGSO empathises with businesses that stand to carry huge losses due to cancellations. Therefore, we urge all parties to act reasonably and fairly, as well as work together to minimise the impact on the economy, individuals and households,” Mphahlele said.

But she added that consumers had a right to a full refund in Covid-related circumstances.

“If a postponement is possible we urge consumers to rather take this option rather than request a refund to minimise the impact on suppliers, who are also not at fault.”