Ticketmaster have clarified the recent claims that have emerged regarding alleged changes made to the refund policies for postponed, rescheduled or cancelled entertainment events such as concerts and sports games. This statement comes after several outlets such as Consequence of Sound and Digital Music News posted screenshots showing the changes in language within the company’s refund policy page regarding rescheduled or postponed events.

The previous policy stated “refunds are available if your event is postponed, rescheduled or canceled,” however the new language omitted postponed or rescheduled. The company explained that the massive amount of cancellations, along with the uncertainty of when these events will return, have impacted their abilities to refund postponed and rescheduled events.

“Typically, event organizers have had the flexibility to offer refunds for virtually all postponed and rescheduled events,” their statement reads. “However, the unprecedented volume of over 30,000 events impacted to date, coupled with continued uncertainty over setting new dates while awaiting clearance from regional governments, has led to event organizers needing additional time to reschedule their events before deciding to offer refund options.”

They went on to explain that 11,000 events have authorized refunds however they “cannot guarantee all event organizers will offer refunds on their rescheduled events.” They also reiterated their policy regarding cancelled events, stating that they will continue to refund them.

“As of today, over 11,000 events, including over 4,000 postponed sports, concerts and arts events, have already authorized refunds,” their statement reads. “While we cannot guarantee all event organizers will offer refunds on their rescheduled events, we anticipate the vast majority will make a refund window available once new dates have been determined. In addition, Ticketmaster continues to issue refunds for all canceled events.”

Read the full statement below:

An update on questions about event refunds.

We will continue to keep fans up to date on the status of events via email and our Covid-19 event portals.

US: https://t.co/hh1FGeQHRr
Canada: https://t.co/h2RcwY42qp pic.twitter.com/nKfrxgbf11

— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) April 15, 2020

“Ticketmaster serves as the sales platform for event organizers worldwide. Our standard practice is for clients to hold the cash from their ticket sales. Clients using our platform also retain the ability to set individual policies for their postponed or rescheduled events.

Typically, event organizers have had the flexibility to offer refunds for virtually all postponed and rescheduled events. However, the unprecedented volume of over 30,000 events impacted to date, coupled with continued uncertainty over setting new dates while awaiting clearance from regional governments, has led to event organizers needing additional time to reschedule their events before deciding to offer refund options.

As of today, over 11,000 events, including over 4,000 postponed sports, concerts and arts events, have already authorized refunds. While we cannot guarantee all event organizers will offer refunds on their rescheduled events, we anticipate the vast majority will make a refund window available once new dates have been determined. In addition, Ticketmaster continues to issue refunds for all canceled events.

The entire Ticketmaster team is working from home and doing its best to respond to all fans and clients. We will continue to keep fans up to date on the status of events via email and via our Covid-19 event portal.”