(RELAXED LOUNGE MUSIC) www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - Tonight ` cancelled events, but no ticket refunds. We're on a Fair Go mission to help you find out your ticketing rights. - You get an email saying, 'We endeavour to respond shortly,' and it's been a lot longer than 'shortly'. - You don't get a lot out of them. - Plus ` missing connections ` a family's eight-month battle for WiFi. - MAN: Very frustrated. Just can't do what you want to do when you want to do it. - And how does more than $1000 just disappear? - So I'm in the middle, stuck between Singapore Airlines on one hand, and Bank of New Zealand, both saying that they don't have the money. - Tena koutou katoa ` welcome to the show. Our first story shows you that sometimes you can do everything right, but still find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place. - Or between an airline and a bank ` which is where our next Fair Go viewer ended up while looking for her missing refund. Thankfully, Kaitlin was on the job. (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) - There must be a place... ...where life's lost property ends up. - There you are. That's a missing earring. - Chances are, we'll never know. - Oh, it has been more than a year. - But we're going to try. So we've joined Tina's search for a missing refund ` $1114. How does that just... vanish? (MAGICAL RINGING) The first step ` retracing Tina's to the last time she had her money in hand ` January 2020. - I go back to Singapore about twice a year to see my mother. - She bought tickets to fly there in June, but the pandemic put an end to those plans. - But I was hoping that no` the border would not be closed for that long, and then maybe I could go back again in 2021, but it didn't happen. - So she asked Singapore Airlines, or SIA, for a refund. That was the easy part. So they were happy to refund you. - Yes, they are. - Great. - Yes. - Just one problem ` the tickets were bought using her son's credit card, which had expired. At first, SIA told her that meant it couldn't refund the old card, so Tina asked what new details were needed. - And I probably receive a e-response back about two to a month or even longer. - By then, the message had changed, SIA saying it would refund the original credit card, and suggested she check that her bank could then transfer it to the new one. Bank of New Zealand said, 'Sure can.' But another month, another message. Now the airline wanted new credit card details, which Tina had asked about months ago. - It's very frustrating, because I, uh` It's` you know, asking the same question again. - Each time Tina got a response, it was from a different person ` 10 in total. - Well, I'm just hoping that they talk to each other. - Finally, in February last year, SIA confirmed the $1100 refund was on its way. But, four months later... - I still do not see the money back. - Singapore Airlines now saying it couldn't see it either. - So I'm in the middle, stuck between Singapore Airlines on one hand, and Bank of New Zealand, both saying that they don't have the money and it's back to the other party. - Any guesses where it is? - It seems like it is floating somewhere in the cloud, because it's definitely not in my bank account, or my son's bank account. - Bank of New Zealand explained to us that credit-card brands like Visa or MasterCard typically require refunds to be sent back to the original card used to protect against fraud. - GILL: If a card has expired, the customer's bank usually processes the refund to their new card. If there is no new card, for instance, because the customer has closed their account, the funds are then returned to the company that made the refund. If the customer has closed all their accounts with the bank, they should talk directly with the company making the refund about alternative ways to process it, as it's not an issue the bank can resolve. - In Tina's case, she should be able to pass on new card details to Singapore Airlines no trouble. But the mixed messages from the airline kept going. - 'The refund to the initial mode of payment was unsuccessful.' - It wanted a letter from BNZ confirming the original card had been closed and alternate card details. Tina sent them through. Still, a month later, she got this reply. - 'We would just like to inform you that the ticket is already refunded.' - But of course, it hadn't been. After nine months of waiting for her lonely $1000, Tina was losing hope. - This, for some time, is quite depressing. (CHUCKLES) Near the end of 2022, it's like, 'Oh, I don't want to deal with it any more, 'and should I just write it off?' (LIVELY ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) - Not if we can help it, Tina ` Fair Go's on the trail. Well, we didn't have to go far... or anywhere, actually. So, I've talked to the spokesperson at Singapore Airlines and they have confirmed Tina's money's not missing, just, uh` lost in translation. - It appears from our investigations that as Tina had dealt with a number of different agents, unfortunately, the process of handing over the information that they needed to properly service Tina on her next call or her next engagement with us simply wasn't put in correctly. And so therefore it was taken by a particular agent to mean one thing, when actually it was another. - Karl says since the pandemic, Singapore Airlines has refunded nearly 40,000 Kiwi tickets. - On the vast majority of those, we got it right. Unfortunately, in the unique cases like Tina's where we've got it wrong, we are sincerely sorry, and we are using those to ensure that we can train our agents to be better in the future. - The airline has refunded Tina ` for real this time. - Well, look, we were very thankful for Fair Go to bring this to our attention, and again, we're incredibly sorry for the time that it's taken to get Tina her refund back. It certainly shouldn't have taken that amount of time, but that refund has been transferred to Tina's bank. Hopefully, as we're talking, that money is with her. - To be sure, we swung back to Tina's place. - Yes, finally. So this is what it looks like. So thanks very much to Fair Go, to Kaitlin, you, and to my daughter for suggesting that I approach Fair Go for help. So... thank you very much. - You are so welcome. - Thank you. - Ah. Lovely. Nice hug fixes most things ` and a refund fixes things as well also. - But I'd like to say a big thank you to Singapore Airlines for actually fronting up on this, because that's what we like to see ` you make a mistake, but you own up to it. - That's what I tell my kids. Right ` coming up, it's the stuff of teenage nightmares ` adult nightmares too ` no internet for eight months. - Full 4G at the moment. - And what's happened to those concert refunds lots of you have been waiting for? - We thought it would just be so easy. - We've got some refunds ` and some answers. (RELAXED LOUNGE MUSIC) - Kia ora. Nau mai, hoki mai ` welcome back. Now, at Fair Go, we notice themes in our inbox all the time, and recently the complaints about ticket refunds have been piling up like Elton John's eyewear. - (CHUCKLES) We've heard from many of you that despite going through the refund process for cancelled events, money hasn't been showing up in your accounts. So Alistar went searching for answers. - # She packed my bags last night, # pre-flight. - Tucked away in Dean Lowrie's home in Rotorua... - It's pretty extensive. - ...a cherished collection. - I've got Neil Young, the Beatles, the Stones, uh` Humble Pie. - But there's one artist for Dean that stands above the rest. - # I'm still standin', # better than I ever did. - I had all the LPs, from 'Empty Sky', 'Elton John' through 'Tumbleweed Connection', 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', until he did 'Victim of Love'. I just loved his sound. - And it's that sound that's drawn crowds all over the world ` including Aotearoa. - WOMAN: Welcome to New Zillund. - Saw him twice in the '80s, and they were at Western Springs. - In February 2020, Elton came back to Tamaki Makaurau for his farewell tour. - What I was looking forward to hear him do the most was 'Burn Down the Mission', cos it's got, like, a lot of piano on it, kind of like a guitar solo in a live act. - I thought you were gonna break out into song there, Dean, for a second. - Don't want to, um` subject anyone to my voice. - There was no way Dean was going to miss out ` he and a couple of mates got their tickets from Ticketmaster for $550. We had tickets to the second night, and of course, he got sick. - CROAKY: I'm so sorry. - But Elton vowed to come back in January 2021... - Then COVID came into play, and... - Well, third time's a charm. Dean's tickets were transferred again to the January 2023 show. - We were going, and, uh` it started to rain. - That's putting it lightly ` it turned out to be one of Auckland's wettest days on record. - We were ankle-deep in water, then taking shelter, and five minutes later, the heavens really opened. That was it. They were pulling the plug. - A cancelled event means a refund, and in Dean's case, from Ticketmaster. But Dean's problems weren't over. He found at first... - You don't get a lot out of them. - It's a similar story for Page Wilson in Tamaki Makaurau. - Hi, guys. We're at Pinkie Polish in Papakura. This is where I work. - While I got pampered, Page spilled on one of her favourite bands that had a concert planned for last March. - Six60 are just iconic in New Zealand. Everyone loves them. I've seen them at Western Springs a couple of years ago as well. The atmosphere was just unreal. - She booked with Ticketek to see Six60 live in Wellington with a group of friends. - We purchased five of the gold reserved seating tickets, so they definitely weren't the cheapest. - It cost them about $700. Page was the main ticket holder, so she was in charge of the transactions. Like Elton's concert, lockdowns meant the Six60 gig was postponed till October last year. - Everything had completely transferred, everyone was still keen to go... - And then... - At 5.30 the night of the concert, I received a text message ` 'Due to high winds, we're gonna have to reschedule this concert. It's gonna be held tomorrow night.' - Because of other commitments, Page couldn't stay in Wellington another night. - The only choice is come home. I'm just waiting to get in contact with someone that can help me... - Like Dean, Page started the refund process. - I received an email explaining, 'If you're no longer able to commit to coming to this concert, please email this email.' So that's exactly what I did. We thought it would just be so easy. - Page has been waiting for her refund... - It'll be, like, over six months now. - Since then, she's only had automatic responses. - You get an email saying, 'We endeavour to respond shortly,' and it's been a lot longer than 'shortly'. - Dean says he didn't receive any instructions from Ticketmaster ` he just went on its website himself. - Had to fill out a form, sent that to 'em on the 17th of February, got no response from them till mid-March, I think the 14th. - And that was just confirmation that Ticketmaster had received his follow-up request ` but no word about a refund. Ticketmaster says it didn't send Dean instructions for a refund because it didn't have his contact details. His tickets were booked through an outlet. It also says it has no record of Dean's request form. But even after Dean's follow-up email in March, it took Ticketmaster almost another month to respond. - Suddenly, they say, 'It's been passed on to Sydney ` you should get a refund in 14 to 21 days.' - That seems about the` the upper limit of what we would expect. - Consumer New Zealand's Jon Duffy says ticketing agencies should be better prepared. - These are big companies with lots of resources, and it is not beyond the realms of` of probability that an event will be cancelled, right? So they should have systems in place to manage bulk refunds effectively. And I'd urge the ticketing companies` if they want to see people attend events they're running again in the future, they should work hard to get those refunds back to people as quickly as possible. - About the delays, Ticketmaster says: - 'Wherever possible, we utilise a bulk refund process. 'Over this period, Ticketmaster has processed 50,000-plus refunds. 'Within seven days of the Elton John show being cancelled, 'all refunds for those with valid card details were processed. 'There are over 10,000 requests that need to be completed manually. 'We've been working hard to administrate 'an unprecedented amount of refunds, 'and the volume of requests currently being processed is unusually high, 'impacting response times. 'We thank customers for their ongoing patience.' - In Page's case, Ticketek acknowledges the number of weather-affected events and the increase in rescheduled and cancelled events. - 'In response, Ticketek has significantly increased its communications to customers 'across this period. 'To those who have faced delays, we apologise and thank them for their patience. - It confirms that over 99% of refunds have now been paid. But Page and Dean are just two of a whole roll of people waiting for refunds ` not just from Ticketek and Ticketmaster, but from other ticketing companies for other events that were cancelled, postponed or had venue changes. Hundreds got in touch, frustrated about the lack of action. - MAN: I've been waiting for a refund since 2020. - WOMAN: We couldn't make the postponed date ` paid $560 for VIP tickets and a refund wasn't an option. - MAN 2: Not good enough. If you pay and get nothing for it ` full refund. - So what can you do if you're in the queue to get your dollars back? - Firstly, they could apply to their bank for a chargeback if they've paid by credit card. If you get into a dispute with the ticketing company around whether a refund's actually owed, well, you may have to head to the Disputes Tribunal. - Or reach out to the artist or band directly. - Let the artists know` you know, through social media that this has happened. And if enough people do it, it's likely those artists are gonna pay attention. - Ticketmaster suggests: - Any customers who would like an update on their refunds can reply to their confirmation email. - After Fair Go got in touch with Ticketek, it reached out to Page. - Yeah, I got an email saying, 'Hello, Page. ''My apologies that you have not had a response to your email. 'Please provide me with these details and I will get your refund actioned urgently.' - Are you happy? Like, how are you feeling about it? - Yeah, I feel a lot happier now. Everyone that was` I had tickets for will be so stoked to get their money back. - Dean's seen some results too ` Ticketmaster has issued his refund. - I want to really thank Fair Go, and for helping bring a far speedier resolution to it. - So, your shout tonight? - Yeah. I'm shouting Dean. - Well done, Star ` but I just don't think it's good enough. Like, you've got people's money for months and months, you don't really tell them much, and then you blame the system. It's your system. So if the system's not good enough, you're not good enough, so just give the money back and tell people what's happening. Is that too much to ask? I don't think it's too much to ask. - No. And that is Mr Grumpy Pants, but I think, actually, it's a point well made. E haere ake nei ` coming up ` a major disconnect. - So I've got a one-dot 4G signal. - Three bars, 4G. - I'm off to help this family's eight-month ` eight-month! ` battle for Wi-Fi. (RELAXED LOUNGE MUSIC) - Kia ora. Nau mai, hoki mai ` welcome back. Now, as anyone who's turned the modem off to get the kids to the dinner table knows` - Yep. - ...the howls of protest that can ensue can cut deep. So how about living with teenagers ` but without internet ` for eight long months? - It has been a very tricky time for the Beldham family, but luckily, I heard their howls of despair and swooped in to help, armed with only a camera and a cell phone, and the hope that this was maybe going to be their lucky day. (UPBEAT GUITAR MUSIC) - Jonathan. Hadyn from Fair Go. 'Jonathan Beldham said he'd pick me up.' Lovely to meet you. 'The destination...' - Do you mind if we go to your house? - Funny thing is, it's right here. - Oh, OK. Cool. Here we go. 'And at Jonathan's place, an even funnier pastime...' - I've got a one-dot 4G signal. -'...comparing cell coverage. Daughter Olivia plays too.' - Three bars, 4G. - 'As does son Riley.' - Full 4G at the moment. - 'They live just two K's from Blenheim's CBD, but...' - On 4G. - '...their reception is patchy.' - Yeah. It's just ridiculous. - 'The Beldhams are infatuated with cell reception...' - Got a signal now, so if you want to go online, do it now. - (LAUGHS) Yeah. - '...because it's all they have.' - We don't have any internet at home. (CHUCKLES) - 'It's worse when we go for a walk.' Do you know if these people have internet? - I believe they do. - Jonathan lives in a relatively new subdivision, but thinks he's the only one without home internet. - Is this just a you problem? - I think it's just a` a we problem. (JOE COCKER'S 'FEELIN' ALRIGHT?') - World was a different place back in August 2022. - Their 'we' problem... - 28th of the 10th. - ...started eight months ago when Jonathan ordered broadband for his new house. - Four to six weeks is what I was told on the phone. We weren't moving in for three weeks, so that was three weeks without the internet. We could deal with that. - They moved in, and three weeks later, the Chorus contractor arrived. But.. - There was a blockage in the line, but the blockage wasn't at our house. The blockage was beyond our house, 70m away. They said that they would be back ` it was in a few days. - They were not back in a few days. - They cancelled it on the` on the day. They needed to get permits to dig a hole. - More contractors came and went ` there was still no internet. - But we were told the work was completed. Should just bring them all up in one go, I would have thought. - Appointments were made and sometimes missed. - We had someone from Chorus ring us at the last minute and said, 'Can you be home tomorrow?' We were` We were home the next day, all day. They never showed. And then all of a sudden, we have an appointment for another month's time. So it could be that one. - Jonathan says he's been told by Chorus the blockage is close to his house. - Oh, there's a Chorus box here. Would you call that 70m? - Wherever it is, while it's blocked, it doesn't help him run his taxi business. - Ah, very frustrated. You just can't do what you want to do, when you want to do it. I have to traipse into the office all the time to do paperwork that could easily be done on a tablet at home. - And now... - They're telling us that they need to dig more holes, and they need to get more permits. (FLEETWOOD MAC'S 'DREAMS') - 'We decided to get on the phone to Chorus and give them a challenge.' Do you think you could get it done by the time this story goes to air? 'In the meantime, Jonathan's streaming services are going unwatched ` 'instead, they're working their way through their extensive DVD collection.' - MAN ON TV: And the only rule is... - We should have cancelled the subscription. We never did. We've got Netflix, Neon, Disney+. - I'm good to go. It was time to talk to Cindy Duck from Chorus about Jonathan's two-month wait for the internet. - We're so sorry that it took so long to get Mr Beldham connected to fibre. - Cindy, what happened? - Um` there were quite a few issues, but it basically comes down to the wrong technicians in the area. So we didn't have enough technicians, and the technicians who were there couldn't do the work that was required. So` no excuses. It wasn't good enough, and we should have got it fixed a lot quicker. - Cindy, everyone's struggling for staff these days. Is this a Blenheim problem for you, or a New Zealand problem? - We have pockets in New Zealand where we have a shortage of technicians. What we found when the borders opened, a lot of our technicians went overseas, and they didn't just go for a short period, they went for like, three months. Um` thankfully, they're starting to come back. - After Fair Go called, it took Chorus about a week to dig that hole, which means... Hello. - Yeah, can you hear me now? - ...at the Beldhams',... - Riley. - (WOMAN CHUCKLES) - ...the internet is flowing. - For all of New Zealand,... (CHUCKLES) how is the internet? - Very good. - (CHUCKLES) - Teenagers. We now have a TV that is capable of streaming. We want to thank Fair Go for helping us out. - Yep. - We don't think we'd` We think we'd probably be waiting another eight months if that was the case. - 'And they're finally ready for some quality viewing.' - We'll be streaming the latest episode of Fair Go. - You big greasers. Catch you later. - (CHUCKLES) - (CHUCKLES) Yeah, he is. - (LAUGHS) You've got to love a greaser. But you did a good job there. I thought that was well done. - Yeah, some good greasing yourself there, Higgins. Right, that is it from us, but if you only caught part of the show, you can catch the whole thing, past episodes, some handy consumer information on the Fair Go page on TVNZ+ whenever you want, because we are always here to help. - That's right. Our programme is all about you and your consumer aches and pains ` no matter if they are huge or teeny-tiny ` so please do get in touch. We're on Facebook and Instagram. You can go to our webpage ` tvnz.co.nz e-mail us: fairgo@tvnz.co.nz or write to us: PO Box 3819, Auckland 1140. - Thank you for watching. Until next week ` - BOTH: Po marie.