I was looking at Sack Lunch Productions BBB....many complaints are from this year as well as last year. Complaints go as far back as July last year. 68 total complaints...only 3 were resolved. Seems many people were upset over their tickets being transferred to another event when their original event was cancelled. They wanted a refund and the company stopped responding to emails. One would think the event company would just refund the price of the ticket. I'm sure these events are a blast...but when they are cancelled I do not understand them transferring all the tickets to another event on a different date. Why not refund the people and give them an option to attend the other event?
Here is one from this week...
10/15/2017
Problems with Product/Service
Complaint First let me say, I am a local military spouse. I purchased tickets to the Lantern Fest event being held in Fayetteville on Oct. 7th as a gift to my husband for our second wedding anniversary and a celebration of his return home from deployment. He missed so many important events in our lives... while being gone; I wanted to celebrate him and our lives together in a magical way. I was very excited to share this event with him as a surprise, but now my heart is broken. It has been months that The Lantern Fest has been planning to come to Fayetteville on Oct. 7th 2017. Today, 12 days before the event, The Lantern Fest posted on their Facebook Page by sharing the event that the Oct. 7th Fayetteville event has been cancelled because of an unnamed local law that prohibits it. No further information was given. They said all tickets have been transferred to a new event in Goldsboro, NC on Nov. 11th. This new event is an hour away and more than a month later. No email notification was made to customers. The only notification was on Facebook and was as follows: "Dear Fayetteville - The Lantern Fest team has been looking forward to bringing magic to Fayetteville all year long. Unfortunately, due to a new local law in the city of Fayetteville, we are unable to bring the event to you this year. We have automatically transferred your tickets to the Lantern Fest: Goldsboro event on November 11th. Thank you for understanding, and we look forward to seeing you there! Best, The Lantern Fest Team" (https://www.facebook.com/events/385185848523416/permalink/488624891512844/?comment_id=488632334845433¬if_t=event_mall_reply¬if_id=1506378050621493) You would think because this change was due to poor planning and irresponsible business practices, the company would offer refunds to those customers who are now unable to go through no fault of their own. However, this was The Lantern Fest's response: "When it comes to refunds, unfortunately, like major sporting events and concerts, refunds are only issued when an event is canceled, not transferred. If you would like to sell or transfer your ticket to someone else, please use the instructions below." So now it is up to the customer to sell their ticket, basically scalping tickets, in order to make their money back. No further information has been provided about the local law that prohibits the event and when it was passed that it would effect the planning of this event months in advance. Many customers feel they are being ripped off and the shady business practices need to be exposed. Please help us! (Show Less of Complaint)
Desired Resolution I would like customers to receive a full refund if they are unable to attend.