Tickets sold out, shows cancelled. But what about me?

Tickets sold out, shows cancelled. But what about me?

I bought a ticket for the show on a retailer's official website. On my way to the Beaulieu concert hall in Lausanne, I was surprised to learn from third parties that the performance had been cancelled altogether! The ticket seller knew my contact details and didn't warn me. As for the organiser, he didn't answer the phone or even leave a message on his answering machine to confirm the cancellation! In addition to the ticket price, can I be reimbursed for the costs I incurred for the evening?

Stéphane, Vaud

There are many legal links between the players involved in an event of this type. Firstly, the artist is bound to the organiser by a company or employment contract, depending on his status. Secondly, the organiser is bound to the box office by a contract of agency, under which the box office undertakes to sell tickets to spectators on behalf of the organiser and to collect the price. Finally, the organiser is bound to the said spectators by a contract that has the characteristics of a contract of enterprise or agency.

Thus, the rights and obligations deriving from the contract concluded by the ticket office on behalf of the organiser automatically pass to the latter. As soon as the spectator has paid for his ticket, whether to the organiser or to his representative, he is entitled to receive payment in return, i.e. to attend the performance.

If the event is cancelled, the service owed by the organiser will not be provided. Consumers are therefore entitled to compensation for their loss, i.e. to be put back in the position they would have been in had the contract never been concluded. In theory, they could demand to be reimbursed not only for the price of the ticket, but also for all the costs incurred as a result of the cancellation, such as travel costs or other arrangements made to attend the event.

However, the freedom of contract set out in article 18 of the Code of Obligations allows the parties to derogate from the legal rules. For example, the general conditions found on ticket-buying websites - which govern the relationship between the spectator and the organiser - in the vast majority of cases include a clause excluding the organiser's liability for any damage other than the price of the ticket.

One may wonder whether the fact that the organiser or his representative did not take a minimum of precautions to warn spectators of the cancellation of the event, before they travelled unnecessarily, does not constitute a circumstance allowing the contractual limitation of liability to be disregarded. However, such a clause can only be challenged in court in the event of serious misconduct, which does not appear to be the case here, even if the absence of a telephone response may indicate a certain casualness. In fact, general terms and conditions often ask spectators to check that the show is still on before attending, and information on this is normally available on the internet.