Who should pay?

I didn't have tickets, but this concert took place in Birmingham on the worst weather day of the recent 'Beast from the East'. All trains and buses in the Midlands had been cancelled, the Police were warning in very strong terms that people shouldn't travel unless absolutely necessary, the roads were gridlocked, with abandoned vehicles all over the place, thick snow and ice which the gritters couldn't clear and visibility was down to a few yards...!
The band were staying in a hotel attached to the arena - they could walk in - so really, the idea that thousands of people should have set off into such dreadful conditions was irresponsible (at best) and actually, ludicrous and potentially very dangerous. The show should have been called off, and anyone with tickets has every right to feel annoyed, as it came across as a blatent attempt to rip off their fans.

At the end of half term I travelled back to London from Glasgow after visiting my DD. All Glasgow to London trains were cancelled due to some problem on the line so I got to the station and found I had to travel to Edinburgh and to London from there. Hats off to Virgin trains who tell me they have refunded most of my return fare automatically as I booked online.(Haven't checked yet.) I didn't expect anything as my delay turned out to be less than 30 mins as I had turned up early for my train so got an earlier replacement than they expected me to have done, but it at least made up for the need for a taxi at the other end which I'd not budgeted for. Virgin are really good if they have delays. When my DD was badly delayed once, she tweeted her concerns about possibly missing the last train out of London to my home and they met her off the train and sent her to me by taxi (about 20 miles). I was saved the hassle of turning out after midnight to pick her up from the nearest station too! I don't feel entitled, just irritated by inconvenience, so it is great when companies do go the extra mile to keep their customers satisfied.

And I would have done in those circumstances, electrics failing is certainly not an act of God!

If the show goes ahead and someone can’t make it, whatever the reason, then that’s tough I’m afraid. However if the show doesn’t go ahead, again whatever the reason, then the would be audience should receive their money back, or a new date for said show. Therefore gillybob I think you were entitled to the money back for the missed Tom Jones concert, you were there, but the electrics failed, that’s the responsibility of the providers, so you should have asked for money back I think.

It wasn’t helped by the media being full of stories of extreme generosity and Spirit of the Blitz so everyone expected to be bailed out. Silly. Booking in advance always carries a risk. It can be a PR disaster for those that don’t refund however and they have to take that into account. I think they should brave it out. It wasn’t their fault etc etc. And they shouldn’t be blackmailed into unreasonable unfelt generosity. Where will it end? People have got to grow up.

During the recent heavy snow, local police advised people not to travel. However a local theatre still put on its show (the performers and staff were staying in a local hotel) and refuses to refund those who took the advice of the police and stayed home.

It's a natural progression of the 'compo culture' - I was inconvenienced/embarrassed/suffered hurt feelings/outrage etc, etc isn't it? All a bit pathetic to our generation.
In this situation I find a scowl, 'hard cheese (or my preferred ruder version) - life isn't fair, kid' an apt response. Was our generation tougher or just less entitled?

It’s very sad that people missed out, however the stereophonics were their to perform, so can hardly be held responsible for those who missed out. Whilst I agree that a reorganising for these fans would be a lovely gesture, it should be seen as a generous act of good will, and not something they were obligated to do.

That's why, for a few quid extra, you can buy insurance.

To quote a Stereophonics song 'C'est la vie!' (Or 'le'?)

Some years ago, DD took DGD1 and some friends to their first concert to see Olly Murs and JLS for a birthday treat. The organisers hadn't anticipated the traffic problems resulting in many concert goers, including some heartbroken girls and a frustrated mum, being stuck on the M3 for hours. They missed the concert!

They were then given tickets to see the same concert at a different venue. It was further away but better than missing out completely.

DD thought it was sweet that Olly Murs's mum sent out a message saying how sorry she was to all his young fans!

We had tickets for a gig in Whitley Bay 2 weeks ago.
I got an email mail the night before, saying the concert had (very sensibly) been cancelled and would be re-scheduled.
Then I got another one saying that the concert would be held in May and all tickets would be valid, but if anyone couldn’t go on that date, the tickets would be refunded.
This seems to me to be the fairest way to deal with this situation - the onus is on the organisers to assess the risk of either the performers or the ticket holders not being able to get to the venue.

Anyone take out insurance in these cases?

I am aware act of GOD might be quoted.

However it is always the 'little' man who loses out.

Sorry for all who lost out, but life aint fair

Whilst I don’t think their should be any claims against the stereophonics (they turned up to perform) I don’t agree with eazybee’s comment that they made it through the bad weather therefore the fans could have also done so

Firstly they might have flown in to the nearest airport , secondly they could have stayed very close by the previous night(s) , thirdly it depends where they were travelling from. The snow hit different places at different times .

If the Steriophnics arrived to give their concert then there is no claim against them; they made it through the bad weather therefore the fans could also have done so.
Ridiculous.

We were on a long-distance train recently and it was 90 minutes late. We could have claimed our fare back, but we were on quite a cheap ticket, we didn't suffer any loss from the delay, and it wasn't the rail company's fault (someone hit by an earlier train) so we didn't. If any of those three reasons hadn't applied, we would have claimed, but now we will feel on strong moral high ground for claiming if we are delayed again.

A few years ago DH and I booked and paid for a day trip to Saltzburg to the Christmas market. The plane that was booked to take us had been vandalized by some football hooligans and they were trying to find a replacement. It got later and later, so eventually DH and I decided not to travel as we'd have to return shortly after arriving! We went shopping in Newcastle instead. Those that went had a horrendous time, as they had to stay in Austria and never got to Saltzburg because of the snow. DH and I didn't get our money back, nor did we expect to as it was our decision not to go.

Someone other than ourselves must always be responsible for our misfortunes.
Some things used to be called " An act of God ",now, as we can't ask God for recompense, we must try and get if off someone, anyone, as long as we get our money back and extra for the inconvenience.

2 years ago, My DH, sister and her partner (along with 100’s of others ) turned up for a concert to see Tom Jones in the grounds of Alnwick castle . We paid 2 nights hotels plus very expensive tickets as a treat . He came on stage the lights went off with a bang and that was that . The promoters then went into administration . Tom Jones jumped into his helicopter and was gone before the field had cleared . He was ( of course) paid in full, as were Alnwick castle and we ( and everyone else) didn’t see a penny back !

Unbelievable.