In response to problems such as difficulty in refunding tickets, false propaganda, and scalpers in the entertainment performance market, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee issued a special report.
Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission’s official Weibo post stated that in recent years, the entertainment performance market has shown vigorous vitality and vitality. However, as the performance categories continue to be enriched and consumers’ enthusiasm for watching performances continues to rise, “platter” concerts have been “watered down” and tickets have been refunded. Many problems such as high handling fees and "pillar tickets" have also arisen, seriously affecting consumers' viewing experience.
The Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee conducted an integrated analysis of related issues and found that the current difficulties in safeguarding rights for entertainment performances are mainly concentrated in the following aspects:
1. The difficulty of refunding tickets is prominent
The refund and change policy is unreasonable
2.
False Propaganda and misleading consumers exist
3.
Some tickets block the view
It is difficult for consumers to protect their rights
4.
Scalpers are scalping tickets and disrupting the market order
According to the "On Further Strengthening Large-scale Commercial Performances" jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Security "Notice on Standardized Management of Events to Promote the Healthy and Orderly Development of the Performance Market", large-scale commercial performance events implement a real-name ticket purchase and admission system, and performance organizers should also establish a refund mechanism for large-scale performance events and formulate tiered refund fee standards. Performance organizers and ticketing platforms have set up strong real-name viewing and tiered refund policies based on this regulation. However, in current practice, the tiered refund policy still has problems such as high refund fees and different refund policies for the same performance in different cities. .
The article stated that taking JJ Lin’s recent concert as an example:
JJ Lin’s concert in Suzhou on May 25th, the refund handling fee is divided into 4 levels according to the time period: unconditional refund, 20% of the ticket price, 50% of the ticket price, not supported Refunds are calculated based on the ticket price of his concerts ranging from RMB 380 to RMB 1880. The refund handling fee ranges from a few hundred to nearly a thousand yuan.
is also the JJ Lin concert in Harbin on June 22. Ticket refunds are divided into three levels according to time: unconditional refund, 30% of the ticket price, and no refund.
However, there is no unconditional refund rule for the Tianjin concert on April 13. Refunds are divided into three levels according to time periods: 3% of the ticket price, 30% of the ticket price, and no refund.
For concerts by the same singer, refund policies are not uniform in different regions, which can easily mislead consumers.
no longer accepts any refund applications about a week before the concert. The refund handling fee can easily reach hundreds or even thousands of yuan. Issues such as inconsistent and opaque refund handling fee standards for each concert undoubtedly make consumers pay the ticket price in advance. At the same time, it also limits the consumer's right to refund a check and increases the burden on consumers to refund a check. According to the relevant provisions of the "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China", standard clauses are used to limit consumers' rights and increase the burden on consumers. The act of consumer obligation shall be an invalid clause.
Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission recommends
Problems such as difficulty in refunding tickets for concerts, music festivals and other entertainment performances, expensive refunds, inconsistency between performances and publicity, and severe obstruction of sight lines from performance seats have greatly reduced the consumer experience and have become industry problems that need to be solved urgently. In this regard, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission recommends:
(1) Strengthen the control of performance quality and consumer viewing experience
First, the ticketing platform and organizers need to further clarify the service content, and clearly indicate the singing repertoire and performance duration on the promotional page , performers and other detailed information to facilitate consumers to check and learn. If the organizer or platform deceives or misleads consumers with false or misleading content, it constitutes false advertising. Consumers who suffer losses as a result can claim compensation.
Secondly, in order to provide consumers with a high-quality viewing experience, ticketing platforms should work together with organizers. The organizer should evaluate the on-site situation in advance and check whether the seats meet the viewing conditions. For blind spot tickets that can be foreseen in advance such as "pillar tickets" in the venue, the organizer is obliged to exclude and specialize such blind spot tickets when setting up the venue. Mark or reserve space for on-site exchange.
Once again, the ticketing platform can make ticket sales transparent through system optimization and upgrades, changing the situation from consumers' "blind selection" of seats to an optional seat model, where consumers can choose seats independently. At the same time, the ticketing platform should inform consumers in advance on the ticket purchase page which seats are covered seats. If they are to be sold, the price can be appropriately reduced so that the services and experience consumers receive are consistent with the price paid, and their right to know is fully protected.
Finally, during and after the performance, the organizer should pay attention to the reasonable demands of consumers. When consumers report that the seats are seriously blocked and there are large blind spots in the field of vision, they should deal with them in a timely and effective manner to ensure the safety of consumers. Legitimate interests.
(2) Reasonably formulate refund rules and standardize refund handling mechanisms.
Ticketing platforms should work with organizers to optimize refund rules, provide more humane services to balance the needs of ticket sales management and consumer rights, and maximize market vitality. For refund issues such as wrong purchases, force majeure, and special reasons, platforms and organizers can appropriately expand the scope of free refunds and reduce practical obstacles. For example, consumers who cannot attend the show due to special reasons such as death of a family member, illness, etc. If the consumer can provide relevant evidence to prove that it is true, the platform can refund the full price after review, or refund after deducting part of the fee appropriately based on the cost of sales. In particular, it is necessary to avoid the behavior of passing the blame and delaying the process, so as to improve the ticket purchasing experience of consumers. In addition, the platform should disclose the refund rules in a conspicuous place and remind consumers again when making payment to fully protect consumers' right to know and choose.
(3) Determine refund handling fees reasonably and make refund charging standards transparent.
Entertainment performances take a long time to prepare and require high initial costs, but the relevant costs should not be completely passed on to consumers. Timeliness is not a unique feature of the cultural and sports performance industry. Similar situations exist in hotel accommodation, aviation and railway industries. Through the joint efforts and exploration of relevant regulatory authorities and enterprises, these industries have introduced refund and reform policies that can effectively combat scalpers and It can bring convenience to consumers. For example, 12306 stipulates that no refund fee will be charged 8 days before departure, 5% of the fare will be deducted from 7 days to 48 hours, 10% of the fare will be deducted from 48 to 24 hours, and within 24 hours, Deducting 20% of the ticket price, the fee for such refunds and changes is uniform, transparent and reasonably priced. In May last year, our committee also proposed that the cultural and sports performance industry refer to the railway ticketing mechanism to improve the "waiting" and "refund" processes to protect the rights and interests of consumers.
Regarding the above issues, we once again require the platform to implement a strong real-name system while also introducing effective service measures, optimizing the refund and change mechanism, and determining a reasonable refund fee standard. Regarding the issue of different refund handling fees for different performances and inconsistent refund handling fees for performance tickets with different ticket prices for the same performance, it is recommended that the platform disclose the relevant charging basis to effectively protect consumers’ right to know, instead of just using “the information provided by the organizer” Phrases such as "different refund policies" and "the handling fee is the result of final confirmation by multiple parties" avoid consumer demands.
(4) Enhance awareness of rights protection and enjoy high-quality consumption
Difficulty in obtaining tickets for popular concerts, deception in unofficial ticket purchases, poor communication on refunds through official channels, and delays in refunds have troubled consumers. First of all, consumers should carefully read the ticket purchase and refund rules and make travel arrangements in advance to avoid risk losses caused by improper arrangements; secondly, consumers should purchase tickets through official channels to avoid being deceived in private transactions and making losses difficult to recover; Thirdly, consumers should keep evidence and materials for later rights protection; finally, if a dispute arises due to the organizer and affects the consumer experience, consumers can negotiate a refund with the organizer or complain to the relevant departments.
In the past two years, the performance market has recovered rapidly, consumers have strong spiritual and cultural needs, and large-scale commercial performances such as concerts and music festivals have ushered in a new boom. At the same time, consumer complaints in the entertainment performance field have also increased.In order to promote the healthy development of the entertainment performance industry and boost consumer confidence in the entertainment performance field, our committee will also continue to focus on consumer demands and related public opinions in the entertainment performance field, speak out in a timely manner on issues that infringe on consumer rights, and effectively ensure legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Source: China Youth Daily
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