Concerts, visits to the theater, sporting events – since the beginning of the pandemic, one cancellation has followed the next. Instead of refunding the money, many organizers offer vouchers. A woman preferred to have her money back and sued the ticket seller CTS Eventim. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg has now decided: A right of withdrawal for the consumer only applies to a limited extent. If organizers risk economic losses, it does not apply, the judges of the highest EU court said on Thursday. The woman therefore does not receive any money back.
The case concerned a concert by Peter Maffay and his band in Braunschweig, which was canceled in spring 2020 due to the corona pandemic. The woman bought the ticket through Eventim and requested a refund of the purchase price and the additional costs. The company then gave her a voucher that she could have redeemed for other events at Eventim.
According to an EU directive, buyers have a right of withdrawal in distance contracts, the ECJ has now explained. These are contracts between companies and consumers that have been concluded via means of distance communication such as the Internet, SMS or telephone calls. This right of withdrawal is valid for two weeks. There is an exception when it comes to leisure activities on a specific date. This regulation is intended to reduce the risk for organizers of cultural or sporting events. If buyers exercise their right of withdrawal, the organizers run the risk of not being able to allocate their places to someone else.
The decisive factor in this case was that Eventim itself had not organized the concert. Instead, the company sold the tickets on behalf of the organizer, but in its own name. The Bremen District Court, before which the buyer sued, then turned to the ECJ and asked whether the exception to the right of withdrawal also applied to agents – like Eventim. The ECJ judges have now confirmed this. The reason: The organizers would continue to risk economic losses, even if a ticket broker like Eventim was interposed. According to the ECJ ruling, it is therefore generally permissible for Eventim to refund a voucher instead of money. The district court of Bremen must now decide on the woman’s specific complaint.
Eventim was already in court in 2021: the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center sued the company and accused it of not refunding the full purchase price and keeping the advance booking fees. The district court of Munich agreed with the consumer advice center, but the judgment is not yet final.