Using Big Banks to Fight Back Vs a Corrupt Concert Organizer

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Did you get shafted by the Slye Guy running the 2023 Blue Ridge Music Fest? You’re hardly alone! If you read my account of my personal experience, and judging by the hit count, you didn’t, we probably had similar experiences, at least in terms of the festival. Or lack of experience. I’ve already taken steps to get a refund for my ticket, and thanks to the years I unfortunately spent in credit card customer service, I’m here to help your attempt. Below I’m going to list the steps you need to follow, and at the end I’ll include my redacted letter that you’re free to plagiarize. If you’re wondering how what amounts to a consumer protection post belongs on a political site, well, think of it as taking the bureaucracy that likes to strangle your average citizen and using it for the forces of good. As Traxler said so well in The Terminator, “Maybe we can make these jackals work for us for a change.”

1. Get your facts together.

Go through and find your confirmation from Etix. You’ll want from that the purchase amount, date, and confirmation number. Go through the bank statements for whatever card or payment method you used to pay for your tickets.

2. Reach out to the vendor,

You want to contact both Blue Ridge and Etix. Neither will get you anywhere. For Etix you have to go through their chat bot and keep saying that articles aren’t helpful before you get a contact form.

As much of a pain as this is, your credit card won’t help you unless you’ve already made a good faith attempt with the merchant. Note the dates that you contact each – I got automated replies from both, which I saved.

3. Contact your Credit Card issuer

I have to caveat this in that what I’m about to say in terms of consumer protection only applies to credit card purchases, and the laws that govern them. You do not have the same protections if you paid by debit card, Venmo, Paypal, etc. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their own consumer protections, and hopefully they’ll take care of you.

You can go through your issuer’s web site or find an address on your last statement or their web site if you prefer to opt for snail mail. Now you need to provide the vitals:

  • All of your pertinent contact info, including account number
  • The transaction details I mentioned above
  • Tell your story, but you don’t need to go into too much detail. You can add a note here and there if you want to work some emotional angle, but they rarely work. Stick to the facts of how you were wronged by Slye Guy.
  • State your request.
If you get a response stating that you only had 60 days after the date of purchase to raise concerns, the rep who sent it to you is dead wrong. Under Regulation Z, you do only have 60 days from the statement date to protest any billing errors, such as an unrecognized purchase or a random fee that may have been assessed. The section that pertains to our situation is 1026.12, which states that there is no time limit for a claim or defense. And no, I don’t have these sections memorized. It’s been a long time, and I just happened to find the web site that does a good job of laying out the law. What you see on this web site I linked is rewritten in the cardholder agreement that, when you open a new credit card, you either get in the mail or emailed to you. In other words, a layout of your rights that nobody reads. Including me.

 

4. Next Steps

Once your complaint is received, the amount of your contested purchase goes into disputed status. Disputed status means that while your purchase is being disputed you do not have to make a payment against the disputed amount, no interest nor late fees can be charged against it, nor will lack of payment against the disputed balance report to any credit agencies. Here is the important part – continue to make regular payments but do not pay the disputed amount! For example, if you have a $1000 balance and Slye Guy shafted you out of $300, you need to pay on the $700 balance. But if you pay the disputed amount, most of the time your credit card issuer will interpret that as you having resolved things with the merchant and close your case.

Did you already pay the balance off? Given the amount of time that’s passed from when you had to buy before the show sold out, you probably have. That’s OK. You’ve probably made subsequent purchases, and if you can, pay off the rest except for your BRRF ticket. Technically you already paid your ticket off, but I can tell you from experience most reps won’t bother looking at your statement history. It’s quicker for them to just start the dispute, move on to the next query, and boost their stats for how many files they’re working.

5. And Finally

At some point you’ll hear back. Hopefully you’ll get a full refund, but maybe you won’t. If they rule against you, try escalating. I look up the bank’s company info online and send my appeal to the CEO and CFO. They won’t read your letter, but your letter will get forwarded to an experienced rep who might work a little bit harder to help you. If you have a lawyer you can use, it doesn’t  hurt to have the letter come from an attorney. I’ve never had this option – I only mention it because I’ve seen it done.

6. Template

Below is my redacted letter, and while you won’t use it verbatim ( I bought my ticket and shuttle pass on two different cards), feel free to use my verbiage.
Good luck!

Your Name                                                       Today’s Date

Address 1
Address 2
Cirt, State, Zip
email
Re: Account Number
To whom it may concern:

On the weekend of 9/8 – 9/11, I attended the Blue Ridge Music Festival in Alton, VA. While I purchased a four day pass to the festival, as well as s three day shuttle pass, I was unable to attend any of the events due to mismanagement by the tour organizers.
I am requesting a partial refund of my purchases for the festival. I purchased a four day pass for $XXX.XX on X/XX (Etix Order XXXXXXXXX, on 1st card), as well as a 3 day shuttle pass on X/XX for $XX.XX (Etix Order XXXXXXXX, on 2nd card).

Although I had the four day pass, I did not arrive until Friday. I reached the parking lot late that afternoon, and as soon as I parked and got to the end of the line for the shuttle, I was told that we had to leave because the show was being cancelled because of the weather. I would later learn that this evacuation did not take place (a number of would be concert goers mentioned being turned away by local law enforcement due to “overcrowding”), followed by unnecessary “weather” cancellations on Saturday and Sunday.

Given what occurred I am requesting that I be refunded for the entire shuttle pass I was unable to use, along with the three days I was not allowed to attend. That would be $XXX (3/4 of $XXX.XX) + the $XX.XX, for a total of XXX.XX.

I have reached out to both the Blue Ridge Music Fest as well as Etix (The event’s ticket vendor), BRMF on 9/12, and Etix on 9/15. Both responded with automated emails, but no further communication since.

If you contact Blue Ridge, please be wary of the reasons they may give for cancelling the Saturday and Sunday shows. They may claim that it was a weather and health & safety issue, but given what they allowed the show to continue during Thursday’s storms there was no reason to cancel Saturday and Sunday over the light rain that fell on Saturday.

A brief search of stories about what actually happened will reveal that the reason for cancelling was that the stage hands and other people hired to work the event were treated so poorly on Thursday (no food, no water, only one shower available for the entire staff to use) that most of the staff refused to show for work on Friday.

They may also assert that there was a no refund policy. However, multiple attendees captured a screen grab of the now modified web pages showing that refunds would be given for weather cancellations. Once the excuse was established for cancelling the final two days the FAQ was changed to reflect this “new” policy.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any clarification or additional info.

Thanks,

Brother Bob

Header image appears via Cartoonstock

Brother Bob is no longer on Facebook (although you can see his archives there), and is back on Twitter again, but is ramping up on Minds and Gab, as well as Parler and GETTR, and has his biggest presence on MeWe.

Cross posted from Brother Bob’s Blog