Festival tickets – your rights

15/02/2018 The internet has been awash with disappointed festival-goers this week, as Reading and Leeds Festival has announced a line-up for 2018 that isn’t quite what many of those with pre-purchased tickets expected…

We thought we’d take the opportunity to clear up some of the confusion around your rights when it comes to ticket sales.

First, the bad news. Unfortunately for disappointed Reading rock fans, you aren’t eligible for a refund for your pre-purchased ticket if you’re not keen on the new line-up.

You are however, eligible for a refund if the event is cancelled, moved, or rescheduled by the event organiser. They’ll normally tell you exactly how you should claim your refund (if you bought it directly from them), and you’ll most likely get the face value of the ticket back (often alongside any postage you were charged).

If you paid for accommodation and travel separately, you may not be eligible for a refund on them – check with the hotel or travel company you booked with! If, however, you were sold the travel and accommodation as part of the cost of the ticket, you might be able to get your money back! The event organiser will have more info.

If you bought your ticket from a third-party website, you may have a little more trouble getting your money back. We always advise that you pay for tickets bought from a third-party website using a credit card – this means that you may be able to (you guessed it) use the trusty Section 75 to get your money back from your card provider if something goes wrong with your ticket.