Couple pays $1,180 for 3-day food and music festival, organizer cancels it 36 hours before opening refuses refunds and says “All purchases are final”: 'They’re claiming that giving us future admission is enough.'

Author image for Inés Soubrie
Inés Soubrie • Writer and Editor
Jul 15, 2026 8:00 PM EDT

Can an event really keep your money after canceling on you?

You buy tickets, make plans, and get ready for a three-day food and music festival, only to find out the entire event is canceled just 36 hours before it begins. But instead of offering refunds, this organizer is pointing to a tiny clause in the terms and saying a future ticket should be enough. Would you accept that, or would you fight to get your money back?

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  • 01
    Woman covered in glitter, wearing festival clothes and smiling.
    via Globelet Reusable

    Woman covered in glitter, wearing festival clothes and smiling. 

    Subjects are models. 

  • I think we have officially reached the point where companies are becoming way too comfortable hiding behind fine print and expecting customers to just accept whatever happens. And honestly, in today’s economy, refusing to refund someone more than $1,000 for an event that literally never happened is crazy work. This couple didn’t buy a random mystery product online or take a gamble on whether they would enjoy the experience. They paid $1,180 for a very specific three-day food and music festival that had a date, a location, vendors, performers, and an entire weekend planned around it. Then, just 36 hours before people were supposed to walk through the gates, the organizers canceled everything because vendors and performers backed out. And somehow the solution was not, “We’re sorry, here is your money back.” Instead, it was basically, “Don’t worry, your tickets can be used for some future event that doesn’t have a date or location yet.” I’m sorry, but that is not the same thing. A ticket to an event that may or may not happen next year is not a replacement for the experience someone already paid for.

  • 02
    Event canceled 36 hours before it started, organizer refuses refunds because of a clause buried in the terms
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    My girlfriend and I paid $1,180 total for two tickets to a three-day outdoor food and music event that was supposed to happen this weekend.
    via BloodySheriff12
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    People sitting on green grass during blue hour, surrounded by tents.
    via ASIA CULTURECENTER

    People sitting on green grass during blue hour, surrounded by tents.

    Subjects are models. 

  • 05
    We also booked a hotel near the venue, but the hotel issue is separate, and I'm not asking about that.
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    On Thursday evening, about 36 hours before the gates were supposed to open, the organizer emailed everyone saying the entire event was canceled because several vendors and performers had withdrawn.
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  • 07
    The email said tickets would automatically be transferred to the next event, which is apparently planned for sometime next year, but no date or location has been announced.
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  • 08
    There was no option in the email to request a refund. I contacted the organizer and explained that we could not accept tickets for an unknown event next year and wanted our payment returned.
    via BloodySheriff12
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    A group of white tents placed outside on green grass at night.
    via Zendure Power Station

    A group of white tents placed outside on green grass at night.

    Subjects are models. 

  • 10
    They replied with a screenshot from their terms stating that "all purchases are final and non-refundable in the event of postponement, relocation, lineup changes, operational interruptions, or
    via BloodySheriff12
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    circumstances affecting the event experience." They're claiming the cancellation counts as an "operational interruption" and that giving us future admission is enough.
    via BloodySheriff12
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    Couple looking at a silver laptop at night.
    via bruce mars

    Couple looking at a silver laptop at night.

    Subjects are models. 

  • 13
    The strange part is that the event wasn't postponed or relocated. It was fully canceled, and the organizer's own email uses the word "canceled" several times.
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  • 14
    Another section of the terms says they may modify or discontinue any portion of the event without liability.
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    I'm not sure whether that can legally mean they can take the full ticket price and provide nothing at the agreed time or place.
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  • 16
    The refund policy was linked in small text during checkout, and I clicked the box accepting the terms, so I understand that I technically agreed to it.
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    I just didn't think "no refunds for lineup changes" meant "we can cancel the entire thing and keep $1,180."
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    Young couple sitting down looking at a silver computer at night in their living room.
    via Getty Images

    Young couple sitting down looking at a silver computer at night in their living room. 

    Subjects are models. 

  • What really gets me is how the organizer suddenly hid behind the terms and conditions once the whole thing fell apart. Sure, people click “I agree” when they buy tickets, but come on, there is a massive difference between accepting that a lineup might shift or a schedule might get tweaked and signing up for a company to cancel the entire event and still walk away with thousands of dollars as if nothing happened. And let’s keep it real: if the customer had pulled the plug on them 36 hours before the festival, do you honestly think the organizer would shrug and say, “No big deal, we’ll just roll your ticket over to some mystery event next year”? Not a chance. They would be talking about deadlines, penalties, and every rule in the book to make sure the customer took the hit.

    At the very least, customers deserve the choice. After all, the only thing worse than a canceled festival is feeling like the cancellation came with a $1,180 price tag.

  • 19
    I paid with a credit card and contacted the card company. They said I can dispute the charge for services not provided, but the organizer may challenge it using the terms | accepted.
    via BloodySheriff12
  • 20
    The organizer also warned in their reply that disputing the payment could result in us being banned from future events and sent to collections if the bank temporarily reverses the charge.
    via BloodySheriff12
  • 21
    That sounds like an intimidation tactic, but I don't know. Is a clause like this generally enforceable when the organizer cancels the entire event for business reasons?
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  • 22
    Would this be appropriate for a chargeback, a complaint to the Arizona Attorney General, or small claims court?
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  • 23
    I'm not trying to get extra damages or compensation. I just want the money back for an event that did not happen.
    via BloodySheriff12

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