SEATTLE — Seattle-based Brown Paper Tickets has been ordered to refund all customers who bought tickets to events that were canceled for pandemic-related reasons.
The decision is the result of a lawsuit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
An estimated 45,000 event organizers and ticket purchasers nationwide and internationally will receive about $9 million.
The Attorney General’s Office said that from March 19, 2020, through February 23, 2021, it received 1,200 complaints from consumers, many of whom were organizers and attendees of small, nonprofit or community-based events.
Because the company operated on tight margins to keep its fees low, it was unable to give refunds to customers or pay event organizers when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of most live events.
Brown Paper Tickets will contact ticket buyers and event organizers who are owed a refund. The Attorney General’s Office will also mail or email letters notifying people of their refund.
An average of less than $50 is owed to ticket buyers, with larger amounts – as much as $1,000 to $10,000 or more per event – owed to event organizers for completed events for which they were not paid.
About 90% of the people who are owed refunds are ticket buyers.
Cox Media Group
