03/31/2022 14:30 (act 03/31/2022 14:30)
According to the ECJ, if you buy a ticket to a concert, you still have a limited right of withdrawal ©Pexels/Wendy Wei (Sujet)
Protection for Event Organizers: According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice, anyone who buys tickets to cultural or sporting events should expect that they cannot revoke the purchase agreement.
On Thursday, judges at the EU’s highest court pointed to exceptions to an EU directive aimed at protecting concert organizers from not getting rid of available seats when they are revoked.
The exception to the right of withdrawal also applies to purchases made through intermediaries.
This exception to the right of withdrawal also applies if the tickets were purchased through intermediaries (Case C-96/21). It is therefore crucial that the economic risk also falls on the organizer if a ticket broker is involved. “I can’t imagine a constellation where this is not the case,” said Iwona Husemann of the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center, in view of this condition.
TJ judgment doesn’t change anything
After all, it is the promoter who usually books the salon, hires the artist and, ultimately, collects most of the revenue. Consequently, the ECJ ruling does not change anything in the previous situation.
Legal dispute over Peter Maffay concert tickets
The background is a legal dispute between a German and the ticket broker CTS Eventim. In November 2019, the consumer ordered tickets to a concert by Peter Maffay & Band in Braunschweig. As the show was canceled due to the corona pandemic, he received a voucher for the purchase price. However, he demanded that CTS Eventim return the money and additional costs.
The Bremen District Court therefore appealed to the ECJ with the question of whether exceptions to the EU’s right of withdrawal also apply in a case where an intermediary and not the organizer sold the tickets. Thus, revocation is excluded, among other things, if a service related to leisure activities is provided and a specific date for this is provided.
The organizer’s risk must be reduced
These rules aim to reduce the risk for organizers of cultural and sporting events, for example. Typically, EU consumers have a two-week right of withdrawal without giving reasons if they purchased products online or over the phone. If you are not properly informed about your right of withdrawal, this period may be extended. The Bremen district court must now rule on the specific legal dispute.