ADR Annual Report 2021-22

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION Annual Report - Year 5
1 June 2021 - 31 May 2022

The report below represents those disputes that have come to STAR to be dealt with under the ADR process.

The report below is provided in line with the requirements and guidelines for reporting provided by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.

NUMBER OF DISPUTES RECEIVED
Number received Domestic Cross-border
a) Total 2,602 2,580 22
b) Types of Dispute
Advertising 30 30 0
Booking and Processing Fees 78 78 0
Call Charges 0 0 0
Cancellation 134 133 1
Customer Error 50 50 0
Customer Care 457 456 1
Delivery Issues 163 162 1
Double Booking 1 1 0
Event Issue 88 88 0
Exchange 8 8 0
General Inquiry 281 280 1
Gift Card 95 95 0
Lost Tickets 3 3 0
Mailling List 1 1 0
Membership 6 6 0
Non-Ticketing Issue 2 2 0
Not Received Refund 474 468 6
Other 34 34 0
Paperless Ticketing 0 0 0
Pricing 2 2 0
Refund and Exchange Policy 497 490 7
Reselling 91 88 3
Restricted View 13 13 0
Scams 1 1 0
Seating 22 20 2
Ticket Error 28 28 0
Ticket Insurance 0 0 0
Tickets Selling Out Quickly 1 1 0
Pricing 4 4 0
Tickets Selling out 0 0 0
Website Error 38 38 0
The above figures include the following relating directly to the COVID-19 pandemic 625 620 5
c) & d) SYSTEMIC OR SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS OCCURRING FREQUENTLY

Refunding of ticket cost to an account or card that has been closed or cancelled.
The gap between the original purchase and an event date that may have been rescheduled because of the pandemic, sometimes several times, can mean that refunds may be issued to a card or account that has since been changed or closed. This can result in the refund being received by the bank but not provided to the customer. The ticket seller no longer has the funds and cannot reverse the refund or make a new refund to a different account. The customer must contact the bank or card provider for the funds to be located and returned to them. This is frustrating for everyone:

  • For the ticket seller as the customer holds them responsible for something they are unable to change.
  • For the customer who considers the ticket seller to be responsible.
  • For STAR as we are unable to help either side in resolving this issue.

We have found that different merchant agreements seem to require ticket sellers to process things in different ways. Some are able to refund to new account details if they are provided in advance by the customer. Others are required to only refund the original payment source. We are including this for a second year as a significant issue which has been exacerbated by the current difficulties because it is something that we are unable to help with in an efficient way, partly because of the number of variables and parties involved.

Cancelled or rescheduled events and refunds
This has again been an unusual year because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the live events industry. A great many contacts from customers have been in respect of the cancellation or rescheduling of events, with some shows from 2020 having been reprogrammed two or three times before being performed in 2022. This has resulted in a very high number of enquiries in advance of the customer having contacted the ticket seller as well as many general enquiries (noted at Non ADR above). In the vast majority of cases, customer concerns are addressed by the ticket seller, though the sheer volume of contacts with sellers by buyers, as well as the complications of the situation, have led to longer response times.
e) DISPUTES THAT HAVE BEEN REFUSED OR DISCONTINUED
Reason for Refusal Number % of Total
A – Not yet raised with trader 607 34%
B – Frivolous, vexatious or malicious 70 4%
C – Previously considered by this or another ADR 1 0%
STAR - E - Event delivery (beyond STAR scope) 42 2%
STAR - G – Non-STAR member (beyond the scope of STAR) 82 5%
Non ADR (such as no purchase of tickets) 972 55%
Total 1,174 100%
Disputes Discontinued by Complainant Number
Complaint taken elsewhere 9
Withdrawn by customer 83
Withdrawn by default (no response from complainant) 359
Total 451
TOTAL COMPLAINTS REFUSED OR DISCONTINUED 451
f) DISPUTES DISCONTINUED FOR OPERATIONAL REASONS Number discontinued % of total initiated
Impair STAR operation 0 0%
Conflict of Interest 0 0%
g) AVERAGE TIME TAKEN TO RESOLVE DISPUTES Average time taken* (days)
Domestic Cross Border
*Some disputes reached resolution prior to complete complaints file. In these cases, the opening date of the dispute has been used as the start date. 47 69
h) RATE OF COMPLIANCE 100%
i) RESOLUTIONS Number
Resolved in STAR Member's Favour 56
Resolved in Customer's Favour 43
Resolved Through Mutual Agreement 278
Total 377

* The Covid-19 pandemic affected live events from 16 March 2020, including through the period of the report above.