By Dongyun Kwon
A live music event, which was going to be held at different venues in Australia and New Zealand, was postponed with no updates or refunds by the event promoter since.
The event was postponed with just a few days left to the event in December 2024.
The inaugural Timeless Summer Tour was scheduled to take place in January in Australia and New Zealand including one at a Yarra Valley winery.
Emerald resident Wendy was going to attend the Yarra Valley event with her friends.
They purchased the tickets in August last year, which cost over $200 per person.
Wendy said she and her friends were excited about the Timeless Summer Tour, which had a great line-up at an outdoor venue.
“The event organiser has cancelled the concert for whatever reason and we’ve been strung along since before Christmas with many promises of new events later in the year,” she said.
“However, most people appear to want a refund and still nothing has happened.
“We were given a glimmer of hope that things would start happening on 20 February, and all we got was an email which asked for a few more days.
“These people are holding onto our money and not communicating. They don’t respond to emails and delete Facebook posts.”
Wendy’s friend Tanya said she had been looking forward to the day out with friends and the shonky communication has been frustrating.
“I don’t commit to many big music festival tickets usually, so I would like my money back at the very least,“ she said.
In a lengthy statement posted on the Timeless Summer Tour website, the reasons for postponing the festival were given.
The statement said the Timeless Summer Tour was impacted by the financial climate, which many live events were struggling with, and the last-minute loss of two New Zealand venues.
“Please know we are now working through this process, including working with the artists’ teams, to confirm new dates for this tour. We will be working diligently in coming weeks to finalise new dates and venues,” it reads.
“We’d like to humbly request your patience with this process as there are a number of businesses, groups and officials we need to communicate with and given some are in a shutdown period during the festive season we are expecting to be able to announce new dates for Timeless Summer Tour in February… To combat these issues, we will be moving Timeless Summer Tour to indoor venues later in 2025 and we will be putting in all of our efforts to confirm all of the details and the new dates from now…
“Rest assured your tickets will be automatically transferred for use at the new event and you won’t need to do anything. If the new dates and venues are no longer suitable and you are unable to attend any longer, we will provide you with information about the refund process.”
The venue for the Yarra Valley event, Rochford Winery, was also notified through a media release by the promoter, which was exactly the same as the announcement on their website.
Rochford Wines music events operations manager Catherine said they were also disappointed they were not able to bring the show to the Yarra Valley.
“Although it was not our decision to cancel the concert, we are sorry this happened so close to the concert date and for any inconvenience it may have caused,’ she said.
“The promoter has advised they have decided to hold the future tours at indoor venues. As we only hold outdoor events at this size, we cannot be part of that tour.
“Rochford has refunded all tickets that were purchased from Rochford, any remaining tickets were purchased from Ticket Fairy and therefore the promoter’s responsibility.”
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) explains consumer rights on its website at accc.gov.au/consumers/buying-products-and-services/buying-tickets-to-events
“This means that where an event is cancelled or significantly changed, consumers may have a right to a refund. This will depend on: the reason for the cancellation or change, the nature of the change, and the terms and conditions of the ticket,” it reads.
“Where the event organiser chooses to cancel or makes a major change to an event, consumers are entitled to a refund under their consumer rights.
“Examples of a major change might be where the headline act at a festival is changed, or where the location of a show is changed from one city to another. Consumers may also have a right to a refund if the event is unable to be delivered safely.”
ACCC also articulates how to claim compensation for losses related to the cancellation of, or significant change to, the event, such as travel or accommodation expenses for the event.
Please visit accc.gov.au/consumers/problem-with-a-product-or-service-you-bought/claiming-compensation for more information regarding the compensation-claiming process.
Star Mail contacted the Timeless Summer Tour promoter.
