TORONTO -- An Aurora, Ont. woman is a fan of Elton John so when his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was to stop in Toronto in March of this year she bought tickets for her family.
“My grandson is an Elton John fan and these tickets were a present for him and his mom," said Joanne Smith.
Like many concerts and sporting events Elton John’s show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At first fans were told to hold on to their tickets and wait for future dates to be announced, but some fans demanded refunds instead.
Smith received an email from Ticketmaster that said “your event has been rescheduled, don't worry, your tickets are still valid.”
But Smith was surprised to see the new concert date was for Feb. 15, 2022.
“Originally we thought we would keep the tickets and go with the flow, but we don't know what's going to happen in 2022," Smith said, adding “that’s a long time for $600 to sit in someone else's pocket.”
Elton John fans were told to get their money back they had until Oct. 23, 2020 to request a refund and if they did not choose this option the tickets would remain valid for the rescheduled date.
Smith said she's been trying to get her money back for a month, by phone, email and live chat but she can't get anyone to respond.
“They won't tell me anything because they just won't answer. Elton John is one of the few artists that said give the people their refunds – so give the people their refunds," Smith said.
With the deadline looming Smith contacted CTV News Toronto. When we reached out to Ticketmaster on her behalf they apologized to her and refunded the $600 right away, which was a relief.
If you bought tickets for a concert the rules for refunds differ from show to show. You could be able to get your money back, a future credit or you may have to hold onto them until the artist comes back to town.
