▲Data map: Concert in a square. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
According to the Workers’ Daily, in recent years, the issue of concert ticket refunds has triggered a large number of consumer complaints. On May 9, the "Analysis Report on Special Issues in Consumption Complaints in the Entertainment Performance Market" released by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission pointed out that from April 15 to May 6 this year, there were as many as 125,676 public opinions on consumer rights protection in Jiangsu Province regarding entertainment performances, among which The problem of difficult and expensive refunds for concert tickets is particularly prominent.
In recent years, the performance market has continued to heat up, and disputes caused by performance ticketing have also increased. It is difficult and expensive to refund concert tickets, which have become the "hidden rules" and "overlord clauses" in the performance market. Although many performance organizers and ticketing platforms have now set up tiered refund rules, there are many unreasonable things in the rules.
For example, one week or even 20 days before the start of a concert, no refund application will be accepted. The refund handling fee can easily be hundreds or even thousands of yuan, and the refund handling fee standards for each concert are not uniform and opaque...
For performance organizers For venues, consumers will suffer losses if they refund tickets. For example, refunds and changes require manual services. Once the performance tickets are recorded in the account and then refunded, they will have to be returned from the original route, and there will be loopholes in financial management. Allowing audiences to change tickets before the show starts may also result in the vacated tickets not being sold in time, affecting the organizer's income. Because of this, allowing performance tickets to be refunded normally after they are sold is tantamount to allowing them to cut their own flesh, and performance organizers lack the motivation to take proactive action.
Now train tickets, air tickets, movie tickets, etc. can be "refunded or changed", and goods purchased online can also be returned without reason within seven days. For the audience in the performance market, they should also enjoy the corresponding "right of regret". Such " The right to regret” cannot be discounted either.
When consumers purchase performance tickets, they form a service sales relationship with the organizer. The Consumer Rights Protection Law does not exclude the provision of services from the scope of protection. The organizer unilaterally sets the terms of the cancellation and change format contract, closes the refund and change procedures, or charges a high handling fee that is much higher than the cost of refund. This is a kind of "overlord clause" that increases the responsibility of consumers and reduces the responsibility of operators. , is also an invalid clause.
Some people believe that consumer refunds may also lead to scalpers hoarding tickets at a low cost and encourage scalpers to scalp tickets. In fact, many performances now implement the "three-in-one" method of tickets, ID cards, and facial recognition, which can effectively prevent scalpers. Organizers should not play tricks on the issue of refunds in the name of preventing scalpers and harm the rights and interests of consumers. .
Faced with various infringements and chaos, some consumers will not take it seriously, but choose to be dumb and eat Huanglian, which also exposes the vulnerability of consumers.
Regarding issues such as the difficulty and high cost of refunding performance tickets, relevant departments need to improve the real-name refund and change system and ticket sales mechanism, and formulate a reasonable risk sharing mechanism. The ticketing platform should optimize the refund and change mechanism and improve the charging standards for tiered refunds.
At the same time, regulatory authorities must also strengthen supervision and urge organizers to respect consumer rights. Behaviors that infringe on consumer rights must be punished in accordance with laws and regulations to increase the organizer's costs of violating laws and regulations. In addition, it is necessary to unblock consumers' rights protection channels and enhance consumers' gaming capabilities. Consumers must also enhance their awareness of rights protection and actively protect their rights in order to better protect their legitimate rights and interests.
In short, performance tickets cannot become "overlord tickets", and performance ticket refunds cannot become "disguised harvesting" of consumers. It is necessary to strengthen the power of consumers, regulatory authorities, industry associations and other parties to form a strong governance synergy, so as to effectively curb the "overlord clauses" that make it difficult and expensive to refund performance tickets.
writing / Dai Xianren (staff)
editor / Chi Daohua
proofread / Zhao Lin
