The organisers of French music festival Ecaussystème have criticised the “behaviour and questionable practices” of France Billet after discovering that a number of ticket-holders for the cancelled 2020 gathering have been unable to secure refunds with the ticketing provider.
In a post on Facebook, the organisers of Ecaussystème praised the festival’s “real partners” who had formed a “chain of solidarity in support of a sector hit very hard by the ongoing crisis”.
However, they lashed out at France Billet, said that they would issue the agency with a “formal notice” and added that legal steps may be considered.
“On the one hand, while the exemplary approach… [of some partners] must be praised, we cannot ignore the serious malfunctions of some others,” the organisers said.
“Therefore, we want to denounce the behaviour and questionable practices of France Billet, which is refusing to refund festival-goers who have made a request.”
The organisers added that different excuses had apparently been provided by the agency for failing to process the refunds, from not having sufficient information about the cancellation of the event to claiming that the event’s operators had not provided approval for refunds.
Ecaussystème insisted that all of the necessary steps had been taken by the event to ensure ticket-holders could claim refunds two-and-a-half months ago.
The 2020 edition of the festival, held annually in the southwestern commune of Gignac, was cancelled on April 28 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The three-day event attracts about 40,000 people every year.
The festival added that its union, ADM, had already warned publicly about France Billet’s approach last month.
“In the face of such an attitude, we can only encourage festival-goers to demand an immediate refund, without any conditions,” Ecaussystème said.
Late last year, Eventim acquired a 48% stake in France Billet under a strategic partnership with the ticketing company’s owner, Fnac Darty.
Image: pxfuel
Share this