Claims
TL;DR
If an event is cancelled outright, you have a legal right to a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If an event is postponed, you may accept the new date or request a refund, though your rights depend on the contract terms. If the organiser refuses a refund or is insolvent, a chargeback (debit or credit card) or Section 75 claim (credit card, £100 to £30,000) are the practical recovery routes. The Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance clarifying that terms preventing refunds for cancelled events are likely unfair.
Key facts (2026)
- The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires that services be provided with reasonable care and skill, at the agreed time and place; if an event is cancelled, the organiser has breached the contract and the consumer is entitled to a full refund (CRA 2015, Sections 49-54).
- The Competition and Markets Authority published guidance in 2020 (updated 2021) stating that terms that prevent consumers from receiving refunds for cancelled events are likely to be unfair under the CRA 2015; this guidance remains relevant in 2026 (CMA, COVID-19 consumer contract guidance, updated).
- Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 provides credit card holders with a claim against the card issuer for breach of contract or misrepresentation on purchases between £100 and £30,000; event tickets paid by credit card qualify if the total price meets the threshold.
- Chargeback is available on Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards for non-delivery of goods or services; a cancelled event where no refund is provided is a qualifying non-delivery dispute (Visa and Mastercard dispute rules, 2025).
- The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 provide additional protections for package holidays that include event attendance as a core component; the organiser must provide a full refund if the package cannot proceed (PTR 2018).
Your legal rights when an event is cancelled
When an event is cancelled outright - not merely postponed - you have a clear legal right to a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The organiser has failed to provide the service you contracted and paid for; this is a straightforward breach of contract regardless of the reason for cancellation. The organiser cannot lawfully retain your money by arguing that the event was cancelled due to circumstances beyond their control (force majeure), unless the contract specifically excludes refunds on force majeure grounds and that exclusion was prominently disclosed before you purchased. The CMA's published guidance (based on its enforcement experience during the COVID-19 pandemic) makes clear that blanket no-refund clauses for cancelled events are likely to be unfair and unenforceable under the CRA 2015. Your right to a refund for a cancelled event is strong regardless of the organiser's preferred position.
Postponed events: a more nuanced position
If an event is postponed rather than cancelled, your rights depend more significantly on the contract terms and the circumstances. If the event is moved to a new date that is materially different from the original - for example, a different season, a different venue, or more than a few weeks later - the organiser may have changed a fundamental term of the contract, giving you the right to treat this as a cancellation and request a refund. If the postponement is minor and the new date is convenient for you, accepting the new date is a practical option. Many organisers offer a choice: new date tickets or a credit voucher. You are not obliged to accept a credit voucher in place of a cash refund; if the event was cancelled or substantially altered, you can insist on the refund. Accept a credit voucher only if you trust the organiser to honour it in the future and are comfortable with the expiry terms.
Contacting the organiser: the first step
Before using card dispute mechanisms, contact the event organiser directly and request a refund in writing. State clearly: the event name and date; your order reference; the amount paid; and the ground for the refund (cancellation, significant postponement, or failure to provide what was contracted). Keep all correspondence. Give the organiser a reasonable response period - 14 days is standard - before escalating. Many organisers process refunds through their ticketing platform; if the tickets were purchased via a platform such as Ticketmaster, See Tickets or Eventbrite, your refund request may need to go to the platform first rather than directly to the organiser. The platform's terms set out the refund process, and the CRA applies to the platform as seller as well as the organiser.
Using chargeback when the organiser refuses
If the organiser refuses a refund for a cancelled event, a chargeback through your card issuer is the next step for card payments. Contact your card issuer and explain that the event was cancelled and no refund has been provided - this is a straightforward non-delivery dispute. Provide evidence of the purchase, the cancellation, and the organiser's refusal to refund. The card scheme's rules require the merchant (the organiser or ticketing platform) to provide counter-evidence; for a cancelled event with no refund, there is little counter-evidence available. Time limits apply: Visa and Mastercard chargebacks must generally be initiated within 120 days of the transaction or the expected service date. If the event was years in the future and was only recently cancelled, the clock may run from the cancellation date; confirm the specific time limit with your card issuer.
Section 75 for credit card purchases
If you paid by credit card and the total cost of the tickets was between £100 and £30,000, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives you a claim directly against your credit card issuer for breach of contract. This is particularly valuable if the event organiser is insolvent - which can happen when large events collapse. The credit card issuer is jointly and severally liable with the organiser; you do not need to exhaust remedies against the organiser before claiming from the issuer. State your Section 75 claim in writing to your card issuer, referencing the specific sections of the Consumer Credit Act. If the card issuer refuses a valid Section 75 claim, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which frequently upholds valid Section 75 claims that card issuers have wrongly rejected.
If the event organiser is insolvent
If the event organiser enters administration or liquidation, your ordinary creditor rights against the organiser are likely to produce little or no recovery - unsecured creditors in most administrations receive a fraction or nothing. For this reason, the recovery routes through your card issuer (chargeback or Section 75) become even more important. Act as soon as you learn of the insolvency; card scheme time limits continue to run regardless of the organiser's financial status. If the event was part of a package holiday under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, the organiser must hold financial protection (ATOL, ABTA or equivalent) that can be claimed even in insolvency. For standalone event tickets without package protection, Section 75 (credit card) and chargeback (debit or credit card) are the primary routes.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
The organiser offered a credit voucher instead of a cash refund. Do I have to accept it?
No. If the event was cancelled outright or substantially altered, you are entitled to a cash refund and are not obliged to accept a credit voucher. A credit voucher is only an acceptable substitute if you freely choose to accept it and the terms are acceptable to you. Accepting a voucher transfers the risk of future organiser insolvency to you; if the organiser fails before you use the voucher, recovery will be more difficult. Only accept a voucher if you have confidence in the organiser's financial position and the voucher terms are genuinely comparable to a cash refund.
What if I bought tickets from a secondary resale site?
Secondary ticket resale platforms (StubHub, Viagogo, etc.) operate under different terms than primary ticket outlets. If you bought from a secondary seller, your contract is with the resale platform or the individual seller, not the original organiser. Most secondary platforms have their own refund policies for cancelled events, which may be more or less generous than a direct purchase. Consumer Rights Act protection applies to purchases from resale platforms trading as businesses. Chargeback and Section 75 rights apply to card payments through secondary platforms as they would for any card transaction.
I am outside the 120-day chargeback window. What are my options?
If the chargeback time limit has passed, Section 75 (for credit card purchases between £100 and £30,000) has a longer effective window - limited by the six-year contract limitation period rather than a card scheme rule. If Section 75 is not available (debit card, or amount outside the range), your remaining options are: a county court claim against the organiser (if still solvent); participation in the insolvency process as an unsecured creditor; or escalation to the FOS if the card issuer has acted unfairly in refusing a chargeback.
The event went ahead but was significantly different from what was described. Can I claim?
Potentially. If the event was materially different from what was advertised or contracted - different headlining acts, substantially different venue, significantly shorter duration - you may have a misrepresentation or breach of contract claim. The test is whether a reasonable consumer would regard the difference as material to their decision to purchase. Document the differences with evidence (screenshots of the original advertising, photos or videos of the event as delivered) and raise a formal complaint with the organiser. If unresolved, escalate to the FOS for card payment disputes.
Can I claim for travel and accommodation costs as well as the ticket price?
In principle, consequential losses (travel, accommodation booked specifically for the event) can be claimed as damages for breach of contract. In practice, event organisers typically refuse to pay consequential losses, and chargeback and Section 75 claims are generally limited to the card transaction amount. A county court claim can include consequential losses, but you must demonstrate that the losses were foreseeable at the time of the contract, were directly caused by the cancellation, and were reasonably mitigated (for example, by cancelling accommodation bookings with refundable terms where possible).
How we verified this guide
Consumer Rights Act 2015 service provisions were confirmed from the primary legislation text. CMA guidance on cancelled events and unfair terms was confirmed from the CMA's published COVID-19 contract guidance. Section 75 provisions were confirmed from CCA 1974. Package Travel Regulations 2018 financial protection requirements were verified from the primary regulations text.
Primary sources
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 - legislation.gov.uk
- CMA - Consumer contracts, refunds and cancellations guidance
- Financial Ombudsman Service - Card payment disputes
- MoneyHelper - Section 75 and chargeback
- Citizens Advice - Consumer rights and refunds
Last reviewed: May 2026.