Tickets for Paléo: can you get your money back?
Tickets for Paléo: can you get your money back?
"I bought my tickets for the Paléo Festival. I read in the paper that the festival will be non-smoking this year. If I'd known this beforehand, I certainly wouldn't have bought the tickets, so can I have them refunded?
Alex, Geneva
Under the Vaud Smoking Ban Act, smoking is prohibited in indoor and enclosed public places. The implementing regulations specify that tents and marquees are considered to be enclosed spaces. As the Paléo Festival de Nyon is a public venue, the Paléo arts & spectacles association (the organising association) has no choice but to introduce a ban on smoking in tents and marquees. However, you can still smoke your cigarette outside these areas. The law does not prohibit open-air smoking in public places.
The purchase of concert tickets constitutes a contract of sale. In this type of contract, the parties may restrict their liability by means of general conditions, for example.
If tickets are purchased via the Paléo website, the general terms and conditions, available online, only provide for a refund in the event of a complete cancellation of an evening. If tickets are purchased from a Ticketcorner outlet, they cannot in principle be returned or exchanged, except in the event of cancellation of the event. In all cases, the first thing to look at is the general terms and conditions on the back of the ticket.
However, any contract may be invalidated if, at the time it was concluded, one of the parties was mistaken about an essential element. This may include future facts if they are foreseeable and considered certain and certain. A party claiming to be mistaken about future facts must show that these facts were a decisive factor in the decision being taken and that they are necessary in the party's view.
However, according to commercial fairness, the mistake must relate to matters that are considered indispensable in the trade and that have an essential bearing on the contractual situation of the party invoking it. Despite its importance in your eyes, it is unlikely that the smoking ban can be considered indispensable to the sale of concert tickets from the point of view of commercial fairness, especially since the entry into force of the law banning smoking caused such a stir.
It seems highly unlikely that you'll be able to get your tickets refunded, but the good news is that nobody can ban you from smoking outside the marquees and tents.
Hello Mr Rytz.
I hope you're well.
I'm in a slightly different situation: I won 2 weekly season tickets in a game on the Paleo website, which I can't resell, even through Paleo Tickets. I recently had an operation following an unintentional accident and Paleo refuses to give me disabled access because I have temporary reduced mobility, even with medical justification (I walk with crutches and cannot bend my seated leg). People with disabilities are only accepted at Paleo if they are in a wheelchair, which is contrary to Swiss law 151.3, the federal law on the elimination of inequalities affecting people with disabilities. Maybe because I'm French?
My brother, who was supposed to come with me, can no longer do so as he has to accompany my father to hospital. As it stands, I end up with 2 season tickets that I won't be able to use this year, that I can't resell (it's written on my ticket) and that Paleo doesn't want to give me until next year. What are the rights? Is there a complaints structure at Paleo where I can make my voice heard? What recourse do I have?
Thank you for your reply
Kind regards
PS: I'm a former employee of the early days of Paleo in Colovray, I go back every year for a few evenings, and like me, my children are employees, the big one for 13 years this year...
Dear Madam,
The rights of the holder of a free ticket depend exclusively on the general conditions of the event organiser. In the absence of specific conditions, the provision of a free ticket is generally considered to be a gift or a commercial gesture, which does not entail any obligations for the organiser in the event of the holder's incapacity to benefit from it. There is no general right to transfer a free ticket in the event of the holder's incapacity. This possibility is left to the discretion of the organiser.
According to the general conditions of the Paleo Festival, no refund is guaranteed, even in the event of a change of programme or cancellation, unless the organiser decides otherwise (art. 1.5). Nor do I see the possibility of postponing the ticket, except in cases of MAJOR force majeure, although the organiser must have decided to do so, which is a prerogative left entirely to its discretion. In any case, your situation would not qualify as a case of force majeure.
Regarding the fact that the organisation does not authorise you TO USE disabled access, it is true that the Federal Law on the Elimination of Inequalities Affecting People with Disabilities (LHand) specifies that a disability is a presumed lasting physical, mental or psychological impairment that prevents or hinders participation in daily life, social life, work, etc. The LHand does not authorise you to USE disabled access.
The notion of "durable" means that a temporary disability (such as a broken leg or a temporary illness) is NOT recognised as a disability within the meaning of the law. The organisation IS THEREFORE ENTITLED to deny you access.
We hope we've answered all your questions, and wish you all the best for the summer.