GeekyCon.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
You just said yourself that a ticket purchase is labeled on your site as including a "chance for autographs"When the ticket was purchased, there was no chance of getting an autographThat is not fulfilling the agreementAt the venue there was nothing stating the autograph policy, we did not learn anything of the lottery until we were in the venue and at the autograph line, at which time we were told we could not receive what we were under the impression we paid for and that was not detailed to us otherwiseFurthermore: The homepage of the site clearly reads all autographs are free and does not say anything relating to lottery or specific ticket typeWord for word it states "A GEEKYCON TICKET COVERS YOUR ENTIRE EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING AUTOGRAPHS" No asteriskNo conditionsNot even in your Terms and ConditionsThis is also repeated on the ticketing page above the ticket typesI have went through and screenshot the entire site and reviewed it, and the lottery system is not mentioned, except in the programmingwhich brings me to this:You say that it is mentioned in the programmingYet, the program came out officially on July *** as stated on your *** after the refund deadline had passedTherefore the lottery system was nowhere on the site until after the refund deadline had passed, as you stated before that it can only be found in the programmingAgain, misleadingIf one were to NOT visit the website, and were to just attend the con, during no point in purchasing the ticket was it stated, printed, or displayed that the chance of receiving any autographs or pictures had passedNot until we were inside the con did anyone tell us anything about a lottery system, once the ticket was already purchasedWe were sold tickets that did not have the benefits we paid for, which in your terminology clearly states "Geekycon Ticket covers the entire experience, INCLUDING autographs."You keep mentioning your refund deadline has passedI understandHowever, your refund deadline was for cancellations, not people that feel deliberately misled into purchasing a ticket to your con which this falls underIf you were to go to Disney, and were to buy a ticket inside, yet then were told that you could not access any of the rides, would you be satisfied if they told you that you still had access to the gift shops and water fountains? How would you feel if they did not tell you that the rides were unavailable until after you got into the park and that you should have checked the show times because the ride info was in the show times, yet you didn't want the shows just the rides? The con had plenty to offer, but that was not why the ticket was purchased It was purchased for something that is expressed clearly on the front page of your website, and if one were to go directly from there to the ticketing page, during no part of that transaction is a lottery mentionedDuring no part of the in person ticketing purchases is a lottery mentionedThere were ample opportunities to convey this policy, but it is not thereI have looked through your *** your site, your posts, and nothingIn fact, there are several people that were posting on Twitter and Facebook about being disappointed in the signings as wellRefunds because someone was disappointed or had to cancel is one thing and I understand this policyRefunds because someone feels they were misled into purchasing something that was not delivered are anotherThis transaction was deceiving and deserves a refund
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
As you stated, the ticket amenities include "a chance for geekycon autographs"Here then is the question you need to ask: When the ticket was purchased, was there a "chance for geekycon autographs"? The answer is noThe tickets I purchased, at the time they were purchased, had zero chance for an autographThis was just simply not something that came with the purchaseThe chance that came with the purchase did not existIf I were to sell a lottery ticket stating that it came with a chance of winning money, but in the end it had zero chance, then a lawsuit could be made stating that the odds advertised were not accurateNone of this was conveyed at any time during the purchase, by any signage in the venue, nor by anything listed on the websiteIt should be expressly noted at the time of ticket purchase that part of the experience that one is buying a ticket for is no longer availableThis is not the caseWhen you advertise something, even though it may be just a part of the package, it is expected to be included in the purchaseThere was no chance, not even 1% of a chance, that autographs would be available for this ticket at the time it was purchasedThat is advertising
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Review: Geekycon advertises on their website that the purchase of a ticket includes autographs. It is on the main page as well as the ticketing page. Upon arriving at the venue and purchasing on site, we were not notified that tickets purchased at that time had zero chance of autographs, due to a lottery system they implement that is not detailed on their website on any page that states autographs are included. No one at the event notified us prior to purchase that they were not included. We were sold a ticket that did not come with one of the main perks, as advertised on their site. They refused a refund and ceased communication with me when I complained directly to them. Deceptive business practice in order to get first time ticket buyers is not a solid way to earn repeat business.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund as stated. I have emails stating that they did not put this policy online until after the refund date had passed and the lack of notification, direction, or guidance prior to the tickets being purchased meant these tickets were purchased without making the consumer aware they did not hold the value rightfully assumed upon purchase.

Business

Response:

Autograph

sessions and photobooths at Mischief Management events always come free, but

they are not guaranteed. A lottery takes place each morning to determine those

who will get access to the sessions. The reason that we have the lottery policy

is so that attendees do not spend hours waiting in line for an autograph only

to be disappointed when the session ends before they reach the front of the

line.

Only those with RockStar passes are guaranteed access to any autograph

sessions. All other ticket types are offered "a chance for GeekyCon

Autographs," as listed on the website ([redacted]).

The advertisement that "autographs always come free" refers to the

lack of additional cost, but access to autograph sessions for general

ticketholders is not guaranteed.

The description of ticket types, including the language regarding "a

chance for GeekyCon autographs" was posted online months before the event.

It did not change, nor were autograph sessions guaranteed anywhere on the

website.

Further, the complete lottery policy including time, location, and procedure

was clearly advertised in our programming guide, available online on July [redacted].

Therefore, the complete information regarding autograph sessions was available

well before the ticket purchase on July ** 2015.

Per our terms and conditions, the last date to request a refund for tickets is

May ** 2015. Since the tickets were purchased after this deadline, there is no

opportunity for a refund.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

You just said yourself that a ticket purchase is labeled on your site as including a "chance for autographs". When the ticket was purchased, there was no chance of getting an autograph. That is not fulfilling the agreement. At the venue there was nothing stating the autograph policy, we did not learn anything of the lottery until we were in the venue and at the autograph line, at which time we were told we could not receive what we were under the impression we paid for and that was not detailed to us otherwise. Furthermore: 1. The homepage of the site clearly reads all autographs are free and does not say anything relating to lottery or specific ticket type. Word for word it states "A GEEKYCON TICKET COVERS YOUR ENTIRE EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING AUTOGRAPHS" No asterisk. No conditions. Not even in your Terms and Conditions. This is also repeated on the ticketing page above the ticket types. I have went through and screenshot the entire site and reviewed it, and the lottery system is not mentioned, except in the programming.... which brings me to this:2. You say that it is mentioned in the programming. Yet, the program came out officially on July [redacted] as stated on your [redacted] after the refund deadline had passed. Therefore the lottery system was nowhere on the site until after the refund deadline had passed, as you stated before that it can only be found in the programming. Again, misleading.3. If one were to NOT visit the website, and were to just attend the con, during no point in purchasing the ticket was it stated, printed, or displayed that the chance of receiving any autographs or pictures had passed. Not until we were inside the con did anyone tell us anything about a lottery system, once the ticket was already purchased. We were sold tickets that did not have the benefits we paid for, which in your terminology clearly states "Geekycon Ticket covers the entire experience, INCLUDING autographs."4. You keep mentioning your refund deadline has passed. I understand. However, your refund deadline was for cancellations, not people that feel deliberately misled into purchasing a ticket to your con which this falls under.5. If you were to go to Disney, and were to buy a ticket inside, yet then were told that you could not access any of the rides, would you be satisfied if they told you that you still had access to the gift shops and water fountains? How would you feel if they did not tell you that the rides were unavailable until after you got into the park and that you should have checked the show times because the ride info was in the show times, yet you didn't want the shows just the rides? The con had plenty to offer, but that was not why the ticket was purchased. It was purchased for something that is expressed clearly on the front page of your website, and if one were to go directly from there to the ticketing page, during no part of that transaction is a lottery mentioned. During no part of the in person ticketing purchases is a lottery mentioned. There were ample opportunities to convey this policy, but it is not there. I have looked through your [redacted] your site, your posts, and nothing. In fact, there are several people that were posting on Twitter and Facebook about being disappointed in the signings as well. Refunds because someone was disappointed or had to cancel is one thing and I understand this policy. Refunds because someone feels they were misled into purchasing something that was not delivered are another. This transaction was deceiving and deserves a refund.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Hello there, I will respond in the same format as the complainant. 1. The language on our website makes no promise that any ticket holder is guaranteed an autograph, only that we do not charge for access to autograph sessions. The direct language states "a ticket covers your entire experience, including autographs" and lists "a chance for GeekyCon autographs" under the amenities provided to the ticketholders. This is meant to show that the there is no additional financial expense required for autograph sessions, but in no ways guarantees any autographs. We use the lottery system for this. 2. Our lottery system has been in place since 2012. We use the lottery process to ensure that customers don't spend needless time in line - instead, we fill the autograph sessions to capacity via a morning lottery. Those that do not win access through the lottery are free to enjoy the many other events at the con. This lottery system has worked for thousands of attendees over the past three years and this is the first complaint or claim that it hasn't been clear. However, in the future, we will make this procedure larger and clearer to address the complainant's concern, but given that the information was publically available prior to the ticket purchase, there will be no refund. 3. Autographs are only a very small portion of the GeekyCon experience. More than 90% of the experience consists of programming, panels, discussions, concerts, marketplace booths, shows, contests, games, and more. That a ticket includes the cost of autographs is not a guarantee of attaining one, the same way we reserve the right to close a session if it reaches capacity. 4. The refund deadline is a concrete deadline for all returned tickets. No exceptions to the May **, 2015 were made. 5. The customer was not barred from access to the conference - the autograph signings were simply full to capacity. However, the customer missed the lottery sessions and as such missed the opportunity for signings. All other conference events were still available. Choosing not to explore our event is not cause for a refund. As our web site in no way states that every ticket comes with guaranteed autographs, we do not find the premise for this refund. However, we are sincerely disappointed that [redacted] had a negative experience, and will ensure that the lottery policies are advertised more publically in the future.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

As you stated, the ticket amenities include "a chance for geekycon autographs". Here then is the question you need to ask: When the ticket was purchased, was there a "chance for geekycon autographs"? The answer is no. The tickets I purchased, at the time they were purchased, had zero chance for an autograph. This was just simply not something that came with the purchase. The chance that came with the purchase did not exist. If I were to sell a lottery ticket stating that it came with a chance of winning money, but in the end it had zero chance, then a lawsuit could be made stating that the odds advertised were not accurate. None of this was conveyed at any time during the purchase, by any signage in the venue, nor by anything listed on the website. It should be expressly noted at the time of ticket purchase that part of the experience that one is buying a ticket for is no longer available. This is not the case. When you advertise something, even though it may be just a part of the package, it is expected to be included in the purchase. There was no chance, not even 1% of a chance, that autographs would be available for this ticket at the time it was purchased. That is false advertising.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,