Canceled or Postponed Events: Refunds, Disputes and Your Rights

An email arrives: the show is canceled, or moved to a date you can't make. Now what? Whether you get your money back, and how much, depends on several things at once: the seller's terms, the laws of your state, whether you bought from the original seller or on the resale market, and how you paid.

That patchwork can feel confusing, but it also means you often have more than one path to a refund. This guide walks through each one, in the order most people need them.

Because state laws and seller policies differ, use this as a checklist rather than a promise of any particular outcome. When in doubt, check the seller's posted policy and your state consumer protection office.

Start with the notice and the seller's terms

Read the cancellation or postponement notice carefully and save a copy. Then find the refund policy for the place you actually bought from. A canceled event and a postponed or rescheduled one are often handled differently, and some policies set a deadline for requesting a refund. If the notice says your ticket will be honored on a new date, find out whether you can still ask for a refund instead, and by when.

A few habits help no matter what the policy says:

• Don't resell or transfer the ticket until you know whether a refund is available, since that could affect your claim.
• Keep your order confirmation, receipts and any messages with the seller.
• Write down the date and the name of anyone you speak with.

Primary tickets vs. resale tickets

If you bought from the original seller, that seller's policy is usually where you start. If you bought resale, your refund normally comes from the reseller or resale platform, not from the venue, which may have no record of your purchase.

Some states set minimum guarantees for resale. New York's Arts and Cultural Affairs Law section 25.07, in the version effective until July 1, 2027, requires anyone who resells tickets, or runs a platform that facilitates resale, to guarantee a full refund of the amount paid, including fees, if the event is canceled. Actual handling and delivery fees can be excluded only if the guarantee said so in advance. The same law requires a refund if the ticket doesn't get you in or doesn't match its description. The GAO's 2018 report found that several states require ticket brokers to be licensed and to meet standards such as offering a standard refund policy.

Fees, add-ons and what "refundable" means

Whether fees come back depends on the seller's terms and your state's law. What federal law does require is honesty. The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, in effect since May 12, 2025, makes it illegal for live-event ticket sellers to misrepresent any fee, including whether it is refundable. If a seller told you a fee was refundable and now says it isn't, that's worth reporting at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If you bought an optional extra at checkout, such as a protection plan, read its own terms. It's a separate product with its own rules about what it covers.

When the seller won't refund: a credit card dispute

If you paid with a credit card and the seller won't make it right, the Fair Credit Billing Act may help. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation Z defines a billing error to include a charge for property or services "not accepted" by you or "not delivered" to you as agreed. A ticket for an event that never took place may fit that description. Your card issuer decides whether a particular charge qualifies, so make your case clearly.

The FTC's guide to disputing charges lays out the process:

1. Write to the issuer at the address for billing inquiries, not the payment address. Include your name, address, account number and a description of the problem.
2. Make sure your letter reaches the issuer within 60 days after the first bill with the error was sent to you. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof.
3. Include copies, not originals, of your receipt, the cancellation notice and your refund request.

The CFPB also suggests calling the card company right away, while still sending the written notice to protect your rights. You can dispute a charge even if you've already paid it, though the CFPB says you probably won't get the money back until the issuer decides you're right.

According to the FTC, the issuer must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days unless it's already resolved, and must resolve the dispute within 90 days. While it investigates, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount and related charges, but you still need to pay the rest of your bill.

Debit cards and payment apps

Credit card dispute rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act cover credit cards and other revolving credit, not every payment method. If you paid by debit card or through a payment app, contact your bank or the app company anyway and ask what it can do. The FTC's advice for scam victims makes the same point: no matter how you paid, it is worth asking the company you used to send the money whether there is a way to get it back.

Speculative tickets and your travel costs

If you bought a speculative listing, a ticket the seller didn't have yet, your order may be canceled even when the event goes ahead. According to industry stakeholders interviewed by GAO, buyers can typically get a refund on a canceled speculative order from the broker or exchange, but may still face disappointment and costs for nonrefundable travel. The FTC staff report on its 2019 ticketing workshop made a similar point: refunds alone may not make buyers whole.

That gap is the key lesson for travel. A ticket refund generally covers the ticket. Hotels, flights and other bookings are separate purchases with their own cancellation terms, so check those right away, too.

A step-by-step checklist

1. Save the cancellation or postponement notice.
2. Read the refund policy of the seller you bought from, and note any deadline.
3. Request a refund in writing and keep a copy.
4. If you bought resale, contact the platform or reseller and ask about its guarantee.
5. If you're refused and paid by credit card, send a written billing error dispute within the 60-day window.
6. Check your hotel and travel bookings separately.
7. Report misleading fee or refund claims at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and contact your state attorney general's consumer protection office about state-law rights.

Key takeaways

• Refunds depend on the seller's terms, your state's law, where you bought and how you paid.
• Resale refunds usually come from the reseller or platform; some states, like New York, require resale guarantees.
• Federal rules require sellers to be truthful about whether fees are refundable.
• A credit card dispute may help when an event doesn't happen; send written notice within 60 days.
• A ticket refund generally won't cover your travel, so check those bookings separately.

Sources

• New York State Senate, Arts and Cultural Affairs Law section 25.07
• Federal Trade Commission, Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How do I dispute a charge on my credit card bill? (reviewed April 15, 2024)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.13 Billing error resolution
• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR Part 464: Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees
• Federal Trade Commission, What To Do if You Were Scammed
• U.S. Government Accountability Office, Event Ticket Sales: Market Characteristics and Consumer Protection Issues, GAO-18-347 (April 2018)
• Federal Trade Commission, "That's the Ticket" Workshop: Staff Perspective (May 2020)