Can I request a refund? Lawyer's interpretation: Unable to hear the singing clearly during the concert, buying "pillar tickets"
On August 26th, in Haikou, Hainan, it was revealed on the internet that during the Tianhou Night concert tour, multiple audience members shouted "ticket refunds" because they could not hear the sound of the concert.
Some viewers expressed that the voices of the previous singers were completely inaudible and lasted for about an hour until Liang Jingru appeared and her voice became slightly louder. But it doesn't feel like the sound system has been adjusted properly, but rather that Liang Jingru's voice is louder. I have already filed a complaint on 12315, but the experience is extremely poor and I feel like I have been deceived.
Since the beginning of this year, the domestic performance market has been very hot, but accompanying problems have emerged one after another. Many performances are hard to get tickets for, and consumers have had a lot of effort to grab them. However, upon arriving at the scene, they found that they were "pillar tickets" and "wall tickets", with their views blocked and even the stage and singer not visible.
Recently, topics related to concert ticketing rights protection have frequently made it to the hot search list on Weibo. Some consumers finally managed to grab tickets for the Mayday concert but were refunded by the organizers. Some consumers have also reported that they have purchased concert tickets on the ticketing platform, and whether they are unable to go due to injuries or want to modify information, they are unable to return or change tickets in the future.
So, can the concert audience request a refund if they can't hear the singing clearly? How can consumers protect their rights when their vision is blocked when they buy "pillar tickets" at a concert? Is the "no return, no exchange" ticket service reasonable for concerts? Is it a domineering clause? How to protect rights when concert tickets are refunded by the organizers?
Let's take a look at the professional interpretation brought by Lawyer Yang Min from Beijing Yingke Law Firm!
1. Can the concert audience request a ticket refund as they cannot hear the singing clearly and have a poor viewing experience?
If there are quality or other issues with the concert, the audience can request the organizers of the concert to refund or exchange tickets. From a legal perspective, it refers to the issue of whether the audience has the right to terminate the ticket purchase contract with the organizer and demand that the organizer return the ticket payment. If there is an agreement between the audience and the organizer regarding the refund situation when purchasing tickets, the audience can handle the refund matters according to the agreement with the organizer. If there is no agreement between the audience and the organizer when purchasing tickets, the audience can still request a refund if the legal conditions are met.
Article 563 of the Civil Code stipulates that if one party delays in fulfilling its obligations or engages in other breach of contract, resulting in the inability to achieve the purpose of the contract, the party may terminate the contract. If the concert cannot be heard clearly, resulting in the inability of the audience to fulfill the contractual purpose of purchasing concert tickets, the audience has the right to request the organizer to refund the tickets in accordance with legal provisions.
2. How can consumers protect their rights when their views are blocked when they buy "pillar tickets" or "wall root tickets" during a concert?
The performance company has violated its contractual obligations and infringed upon the consumer's right to information and choice by not informing the audience in advance of the potential impact on the viewing experience. The organizer should confirm the number of seats and check if the seats meet the viewing conditions before selling tickets. If there are obvious obstacles in front of the location that affect the viewing experience, the organizer should provide necessary prompts and explanations when selling tickets, otherwise it is considered a violation of the consumer's right to information and fair trade.
Some viewers purchased higher ticket prices, but the actual viewing effect was affected, and their vision was obstructed, making it impossible to watch the concert normally. Consumers can raise their rights to the organizers in this regard. According to the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods or services they purchase or use. Consumers have the right to obtain fair trading conditions such as quality assurance, reasonable prices, and accurate measurements when purchasing goods or receiving services, and have the right to refuse forced trading behavior from operators. If the organizer refuses to refund, they can report the situation to the market supervision department or report a complaint to the consumer association.
Is it reasonable for the concert ticket service to be non refundable and non exchangeable? Is it a domineering clause?
Article 26 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law stipulates that business operators shall not make unfair or unreasonable provisions to consumers, such as excluding or restricting consumer rights, reducing or exempting business operators from liability, or increasing consumer liability, through standard terms, notices, statements, store notices, etc. They shall not use standard terms and technical means to force transactions. If the format terms, notices, statements, store notices, etc. contain the contents listed in the preceding paragraph, their contents shall be invalid.
Article 496 (2) of the Civil Code stipulates that if a contract is concluded using standard terms, the party providing the standard terms shall follow the principle of fairness to determine the rights and obligations between the parties, and adopt reasonable methods to remind the other party to pay attention to clauses that have a significant interest in the other party, such as exempting or reducing their liability. According to the other party's requirements, the provision shall be explained. If the party providing the standard terms fails to fulfill the obligation of prompt or explanation, resulting in the other party not paying attention to or understanding the terms that have a significant interest in it, the other party may claim that the terms do not become part of the contract.
The provision made by ticketing platforms that once a performance ticket is sold, it cannot be changed or returned is a clause that unreasonably exempts or reduces one's own responsibility, increases the responsibility of ticket buyers, and limits the main rights of ticket buyers. It is a standard clause, also known as the "king clause".
4. Does the refund of concert tickets by the organizer infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and how should we protect our rights?
When consumers use cheating programs or other improper means to grab tickets, and the platform confirms that it is a violation, they can unilaterally terminate the contract and refund the ticket. If the platform forcibly refunds tickets without evidence to prove the user's violation, it violates the consumer's right to fair trading and constitutes a breach of contract. If the platform "accidentally harms" legitimate orders, consumers can report and complain to market regulatory authorities or consumer associations, and have the right to demand that the platform bear the economic losses caused by the breach of contract.
Article 584 of the Civil Code stipulates that if one party fails to fulfill its contractual obligations or fails to fulfill contractual obligations in accordance with the agreement, resulting in losses to the other party, the amount of compensation for losses shall be equivalent to the losses caused by the breach, including the benefits that can be obtained after the performance of the contract; However, it shall not exceed the losses that the defaulting party may have foreseen or should have foreseen at the time of entering into the contract due to the breach.
Consumers can, in accordance with the above legal provisions, reasonably request the platform to bear the cost of ticket rescheduling and refund, as well as the loss of hotel reservation rescheduling and refund costs incurred due to the failure to fulfill the contract.
