
- You buy a ticket, go to a concert, and at the entrance you find out that your handbag or bum bag is a “luggage”.
- If you still wish to participate in the event, you must use a paid deposit.
- The President of UOKiK brought charges against Live Nation, questioning the terms and conditions used by the company.
Live Nation organises artistic events, mainly concerts and festivals, and sells tickets through partner ticket offices, both online and offline. UOKiK has received consumer complaints concerning the introduction of a ban on bringing luggage to events organised by Live Nation and a mandatory fee for leaving backpacks and bags in storage. After analysing the company’s regulations, the President of UOKiK accused it of using abusive clauses.
When a handbag becomes luggage
Live Nation prohibits backpacks, handbags, and all types of luggage from being brought onto the event venue, regardless of size. However, the regulations applied by the company do not define the term “luggage”. This may prevent participants from preparing for the event and securing their personal belongings, such as mobile phones, keys, wallets or medication. If the consumer’s personal belongings were considered luggage, he or she might not be allowed to enter the event and would lose the right to a refund for the ticket.
According to the analysis of signals sent to the Office, the entrepreneur changed the rules of participation in events, which consumers learned about after purchasing tickets. Previous rules allowed luggage up to the size of an A4 sheet to be brought onto the event venue.
Deposit only for selected customers?
The entrepreneur provides consumers with a deposit where items considered to be luggage can be stored, but the terms and conditions of this service also raised doubts on the part of the President of the Office. Live Nation reserves the right to refuse to accept items for storage without giving any reason for its decision. Furthermore, the storage regulations are only available at the event venue, which means that consumers are unable to familiarise themselves with their content in advance.
– The regulations should be clear and unambiguous, and their provisions may not be changed unilaterally. Consumers often plan to go to a concert months in advance, and attending such events is a unique experience for them. Unexpected refusal to participate, restrictions that participants learn about only upon arrival, and additional fees that must be paid in order to enter the event are situations that should not occur – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.
The President of UOKiK also questioned the provisions concerning the non-collection of items from the deposit. The issue in question is governed by two sets of regulations, the contents of which are inconsistent, preventing consumers from adequately preparing for participation. Furthermore, one of these sets of regulations is only made available to participants at the event venue. The President of the Office raised doubts not only about the lack of transparency of the templates, but also about Live Nation granting itself the arbitrary right to take ownership of deposited items if consumers do not collect them within a specified period of time. The company also excludes consumers’ rights to pursue claims in the event of disposal of their property.
Cancelled events and special conditions
According to the law, if an event is cancelled for reasons attributable to the organiser, participants are automatically entitled to a full refund for unused tickets. An analysis of the regulations shows that in the event of cancellation, consumers should submit a request for a refund of the ticket price at the place of purchase. They have six months from the original date of the event to do so. It may therefore happen that if a consumer does not submit a request, they will not receive a refund, even though they were unable to use the service.
Live Nation stipulates in its regulations that participation in events may be subject to what it calls “special conditions” or “special rules”, e.g. legal requirements, decisions of the organiser or artist. However, the template does not specify when and how such additional rules may be introduced, what exactly they may cover, how customers will be informed about them, and what rights they will have in such cases.
In the proceedings initiated, the President of UOKiK questioned a total of six provisions of the template agreements used by Live Nation. For each of the prohibited provisions, the company faces a penalty of up to 10% of its turnover.
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