Gephardt: Only Partial Refunds For Fans Who Bought Tickets To Concert

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Shantell Beck had tickets to see the Eden concert at The Complex in Salt Lake City.

Thanks to COVID-19, the show will not go on.

Beck got back some money — in fact, she got a full refund for the face value of the tickets. But the paper check came with a note from the venue saying they will be keeping 100% of the fees, about $9 per seat.

“I feel like they’re just stealing money from me,” Beck said. “Their business might not be good due to COVID, but I lost my job to COVID too. I need that money just as much as them.”

The Complex owners didn’t want to discuss the matter on camera, but one of the owners told KSL-TV by phone they just can’t afford to provide full refunds. Even after slashing staff, they still have operating costs that need to be paid so they can hopefully remain in business once the pandemic is behind over.

Plus, some of the money was spent on processing the tickets, The Complex stated. Fees are paid to credit card companies when they take payments and when they refund payments.

As the KSL Investigators have reported, many venues are struggling thanks to canceled events and the way refunds are being handled is all over the map. Some are offering full refunds, some partial and some none.

Despite Utah law clearly stating that people who pay for items that they don’t receive are entitled to a full refund, the terms and conditions to which fans agree when purchasing tickets circumvent those rules. There is very little that can be done to force a venue to offer a refund.

As for Beck, she thinks there is a better way for venues to handle it if they want to keep loyal customers.

“Even if they just said like, an option, like, ‘Would you like to donate this money?’ I probably would have considered it,” she said.

The Complex representatives said they have given full refunds in the past, even though the terms and conditions don’t require it, and were hoping to find a way to make it up to fans down the road.