VANOC has revamped its refund policy, and the result is less paperwork for cancelled ticket holders – but not everyone is getting off easier under the new system.
Thousands of people with general admission tickets to Olympic events at Cypress Mountain faced uncertainty on Monday night; Organizers have been canceling tickets after wet weather made the ground in some spectator areas unstable.
Snowboard cross fans who hadn't heard about the cancellation of their standing-room-only tickets learned the bad news when they showed up for their buses at Lonsdale Quay on Monday.
VANOC did it's best to find them other events to attend. As for refunds, the Olympic organizer has decided to simplify its system, and will now be automatically refunding account holders for cancelled events.
"We will do that immediately following the conclusion of the Games and we will continue to monitor any of these situations going forward," said Caley Denton, VANOC's vice president of ticketing.
Fans who purchased their tickets on the fan-to-fan marketplace will also have their money automatically refunded.
"The whole transaction gets reversed so both the buyer and seller get their money back," Denton said.
Those who bought their ticket from an official ticket reseller will have to go to them for a refund – and can also contact their credit card company to start a chargeback for services not rendered.
But ticket holders who bought on Craigslist or from a person on the street will have to find and deal with the seller themselves.
VANOC said it would not refund non-account holders with valid tickets – though it said it would once-more review its position.
The bottom line: hold on to your tickets until a final decision is made.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
