Eventim is a joke

[u/fotidim]

So I bought tickets for a concert in Berlin on September 5. The concert was supposed to take place on November 12.

Four days later, on September 9, the concert was cancelled.

Annoying, but shit happens. I figured I'd just get my money back and move on.

Well, not with Eventim apparently.

I paid €51.12. They refunded me €42.09.

I contacted customer support (which was also not easy but that's for another post) asking where the rest of my money was. They explained that they don't refund fees because, according to them, those cover services they've already provided.

Seriously? The concert was cancelled. Why should I be paying anything?

After pushing back and mentioning a court ruling against Eventim regarding these fees, they suddenly agreed to refund another €2.91. Of course, they called it a "gesture of goodwill" and made sure to mention they weren't acknowledging any legal obligation.

I checked again. Still missing €6.12.

So I emailed them AGAIN.

And guess what? They agreed to refund another fee. Again, out of the kindness of their hearts, apparently.

At this point, I've exchanged more emails with Eventim than I have with some of my relatives this year.

And I'm still not getting the full amount back.

Look, I know it's only a few euros. I really don't care about the amount. It's the principle.

Why do I have to chase a company for MY money when the event THEY sold me tickets for gets cancelled?

And why does every single fee magically become refundable the moment you complain enough?

I can't help wondering how much money Eventim makes from people who just accept the first partial refund and don't bother fighting over a few euros.

The whole thing feels deliberately exhausting.

And one thing is certain: I'm never buying tickets through Eventim again. I'd rather miss a concert than deal with this nonsense again. They've managed to turn a simple refund into a customer service nightmare, all over a few euros.

[u/filipomar]

Just get the credit card charge back explaining that you talked to the seller, they denied service or money back, and say you want the full ammount.

They usually will give you the money back and do the arbitrage on their end.

Heck, if the system is being obtuse you can go so far as state that with the CC company

[u/Recent_Maize5108 → u/filipomar]

And that's how you get into a world of pain in Germany. Might work in the US, but here, chargebacks will come with a payable invoice in your physical mailbox, a 14 days deadline, and your ass handed to a collections company once the deadline has lapsed. Their fees are in the 60-100 EUR range, plus interest and subsequent court fees.

[u/erik_7581 → u/Recent_Maize5108]

Yeah and then you just contradict (widersprechen) the demand and thats it.

[u/iflugi → u/erik_7581]

exactly

[u/filipomar → u/Recent_Maize5108]

I do not know what you are talking about, I have done chargebacks 5+ times in the last years.
Double charges, scams, services with dark patterns.

If the company knows they are being defrauded, they will act, eventim knows they are the fraudulent ones.

Even then, you can pay the original payment if they do show up once they do show up.
If you are not in the wrong, you have nothing to lose.

[u/iflugi → u/Recent_Maize5108]

Don't confuse direct debit and credit card chargebacks, these are two completely different things.

[u/Recent_Maize5108 → u/iflugi]

I'm aware. Either one will attract legal consequences if reversed while the recipient of the payment is legit.

[u/iflugi → u/Recent_Maize5108]

With direct debit chargeback you're initiating payment reversal yourself, and bear the legal consequences. For credit card chargebacks you initiate a dispute handled by a middleman payment card services company (Visa/Mastercard/AMEX) which has a contractual agreement with the merchant's bank (and the merchant abide by the rules imposed by these companies via the contract with their bank). The company acts as an arbiter, reviews the evidences and initiate the payment reversal if the merchant broke the rules they agreed to (e.g. if the goods or services were not delivered, they were not as described or defective, or the merchant failed to issue the refund). So, in theory, there should never be an approved CC chargeback if the merchant has fully fulfilled its contractual obligations.

Can the merchant still take a legal actions against you? Sure, it's a free country in the end, and everyone can do that (you can sue me over my comments here if you wish). Will they have a chance to win it? Nah, not really. A letter from Inkasso might look scary to many, but it is not a court document with an obligation to pay within the 14-day deadline. Would you need to send a Widerspruch? Sure, but that's about it. The goods or services were not delivered, and the refund was not received in full. Good luck with taking that to the court. And if the merchant is stupid enough to do that, you have your Rechtsschutzversicherung, don't you?

https://hilfe-rechtsanwalt.de/en/blog/debt-collection-in-germany-your-rights