The issue of ticket refunds is currently rising to the forefront as different stories regarding the Burna Boy concert catastrophe continue to spread. This recent incident coincides with news that Ternary Media Group CEO, Sedote Nwachukwu, who is also the show’s organiser, is accused of stealing R10 million, which led to the show’s recent cancellation.
Over the past few days, Nwachukwu and Gregory Wings, his business partner, have been involved in an unpleasant public fight in which both parties have accused the other of fraud. According to an industry source managing a significant upcoming South African concert, planners are allowed to take money from ticket sales whenever they choose.
“The systems are designed such that as money comes in for ticket sales, an organiser and his appointed team can withdraw money at their own discretion. This is typically done to allow organisers to access funds for staging requirements, to pay vendors and settle various other expenses that are incurred in the process of setting up a major event. The loophole that seems to have been exploited here is that someone withdrew that money and disappeared. This now poses the question of what will happen with refunds. And this is something that, I don’t think, Ticketpro can really be held liable for”, said the source.
Ticketpro confirmed earlier this week that it has started the process of issuing refunds to clients. However, given that EFT reimbursements take 7–14 days to process, it is still unclear whether everything will go as planned.
“We have started refunding customers and all refund requests are being worked through,” the company responded to a comment from a patron on Instagram.
“Your request will be attended to and your refund will be issued.”
