ComplaintsforInforma PLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Back in 12/22/23 I bought a ticket to go to fan expo Portland for January 12 -13 when. I went my get my ticket an emergency was put out for a blizzard warning by the mayor and he said to go home. I live two hours away so I was stuck in my car during the blizzard. Instead of shutting down the show for safety precautions fanexpo Portland continued and I was not able to go to the event so I tried to get a hold of the company for a refund since I was stuck in a blizzard and didn’t get to do the event. After being stuck in vancouver/ Portland for a week I finally heard from the company and they told me they would not give me anything because I was able to get my ticket before the blizzard. After that I turned them in to my credit card company because I was not able to get the product they promised on the website or they safety or fun. They then emailed me back after a few weeks and told me they would do nothing for me again. Another day went by and they emailed me and told me the credit card company sided with them but they would give me 90 for the $155 I spent on the ticket for a cheaper ticket. I told them that was unacceptable and I wanted my full refund and nothing to do with them. Since then I have been battling it out with my credit card company ******* **** and them saying because I went the first day and spent 10 minutes getting my ticket before the blizzard that I get nothing. At all. I’m am tired of fighting them so I need help so nobody gets hurt or stranded or mistreated like I did by this company. Please whoever is reading this contact me. Thank you so much for reading this hopefully we can together stop this company from abusing clients

  Business response

  09/03/2024

  ********
  On December 22, 2023, you purchased an Ultimate Fan Package and an ‘I want it all’ merchandise bundle for FAN EXPO Portland, running January 12-14, 2024. A total combined value of $154.35. The Ultimate Fan Package is $109 + $10.35 in service charges, for a total cost of $119.35. The I want it all merchandise bundle was $35.
  On January 12, 2024, around 1:30 PM you picked up your Ultimate Fan Package badge and around 2:15 PM, you redeemed your merchandise bundle. You tapped in and out of the show 5 times throughout Friday afternoon.
  You let us know on January 13, 2024, that you would not be able to attend Saturday and Sunday due to the weather. We were in touch again on January 18, 2024, when we let you know that we would be able to transfer your full Ultimate Fan Package, despite having attended the show on Friday, to FAN EXPO Portland 2025. We sent a link to you to complete this transfer. You expressed your disappointment with this offer. We also offered to transfer your tickets to FAN EXPO San Francisco 2024. Ultimately, on January 21, 2024, you decided to transfer your tickets to FAN EXPO Portland 2025. We explained that all vouchers would be issued by March 15, 2024.
  On or around February 2, 2024, you disputed your Ultimate Fan Package and merchandise bundle purchase with your credit card.
  On February 14, 2024, you reached out to us to find out the status of your voucher for your FAN EXPO Portland 2025 Ultimate Fan Package. We sent you the link to complete our form again and you completed it on February 15, 2024.
  On March 2, 2024, when we began issuing the vouchers for 2025, we noticed that you had disputed your purchase with your bank. We let you know that we won’t be able to proceed with issuing the transferred ticket due to the pending dispute.
  On March 6, 2024, we were informed that the dispute was reversed because of documentation we provided, and we issued a voucher for your 2025 Ultimate Fan Package the next day, on March 7, 2024.
  We hadn’t heard from you until this past Friday when you indicated you would be ‘turning us into the government’ and promptly submitted this claim with Better Business Bureau.
  You currently hold an Ultimate Fan Package to FAN EXPO Portland 2025 which was sent to you on March 7, 2024: ****************************************************************************************************
  The price of the Ultimate Fan Package in 2025 remains unchanged from 2024 (total including service charges $119.35) and as such, you are receiving full value for your purchase made.
  We have communicated openly and responded promptly. We have fulfilled your request. We have attached all relevant documentation for your convenience.
  

  Business response

  09/06/2024

  ********
  
  We are confirming that not only was there a bathroom accessible outside of the show tap in area, but your taps also confirm you were at the show for the entire afternoon until approximately 7 PM. Attending the show on Friday did not impact our offer of full admission to the 2025 event. 

  Customer response

  09/09/2024

  The business lied and put people’s life in danger. They did have staff at the bathroom to scan and security not letting anybody in from outside. I was trapped in Portland and had no where to go it’s why I was at the building I was stuck. The mayor issued warnings to shut everything down. I am heading to the city next after this and have already been in talks. I believe to resolve this issue and apologize to me should be obvious and a refund. The business has not showed any good faith or care and should be further investigated. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My friend and I were planning to attend the FanExpo event in San Francisco the on the 25-27 of November 2022 and we ran into a family emergency in which my friend's mother became sick with COVID and had to be hospitalized. This put us in the unfortunate position of having to cancel attending the event. We have been able to get refunds from the airline, the Hotel, and the Photo sales for the event but not the ticket sales. We both paid for the premium package which includes physical items that we are supposed to receive, but that's impossible since we cannot attend. We want a full refund of our ticket sales to the event at $139.35 each. I hope I have the right business, FanExpo ( a Comic convention) shows as being owned by Informa PLC. I could not find FanExpo when I searched

  Business response

  12/13/2022

  Hello,

  The Customer Service group for this event has denied the refund as the cut off for refund requests was Nov 11.   They did not receive a request before that date.   Below is their explanation and attached is the back up for the cut off date.

  Please find the purchase page for FXSF attached as well as the Attendee Entry Policy, which is the link on the purchase page. Point 6 on the Attendee Entry Policy is the refund deadline. The deadline is also listed on the purchase page.
  
  I have also attached ******* ******** e-ticket where the refund policy is also located.
  
  The website has been cleared at this point, so we don’t have the refund policy listed anywhere on the current site. The FAQs are still live though, and the refund info can be found here: ******************************************************************************************
  
  I have also attached my response to ******* regarding the refund policy and the option to give or sell the tickets to a friend or family member.
  
  Our refund policy is listed clearly in multiple areas and is agreed to by the fan upon purchase when they click the red ‘click here to agree’ button.
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ******* 2022 in Orlando Florida - ****** ****** ********** ******. This event was a disaster for both safety and enjoyment reasons. Where do I even start? First of all, the organization of the event was atrocious. They ran out of parking within the first two hours of the event on Saturday, the 21st of May 2022. The lines for pre-purchased tickets were hours long. The exhibitor hall was planted in the center of the convention hall, forcing the crowds of people who needed to get from one side of the center to the other for panels to go through a zoo of people hording in the exhibitor hall for the events (photo ops, cosplay, sales floor, artist alley, etc). There were so many people and it was so crowded that nowhere had any covid safety standards, no decent security, and no way to easily enter or exit the premises. The app didn't work, the wifi didn't work, there were way too many people crowded into place. This could have been avoided with planning that wasn't directed on getting people to go through the center hall (clearly someone thought it was a good idea to make people go through the hall and spend more money). Everything about this event was terrible. The amount and length of panels included was also pathetic for such a large event. I want a full refund--all of my money back. I didn't even stay at this con for 3 hours, it was such a waste of time and money. If *** **** ** had a BBB I would be filing a complaint with them too. I'm going to do everything in my power to get my money back, because it was 100% wasted.

  Business response

  06/15/2022

  Hi *********,

   

  Thank you for your feedback regarding ******* Orlando 2022. Looking up your purchase history in our system, it looks like this may have been your first ******* in recent years and we regret to hear it didn’t meet your expectations. *******, as the name implies, is a MEGA event – we have attendees, guests and exhibitors from around the world. It is a fan-focused experience which draws over 140,000 individuals.

   

  Saturday, is and always has been our most popular day to attend. At times, this means there can be line ups in places like the ticketing hall, parking and across the show floor. With that said, we’d like to reassure you that the safety of our fans is paramount to us. We followed all health & safety protocols and were in compliance throughout the weekend.

   

  The facility is set up in a way that the most logical location to place our nearly 900 exhibitors is in the main hall. Additionally, most of our fans place shopping at the top of their ‘to do’ list at our events making the exhibit hall a main attraction. There are entry and exit points around the perimeter of the building and we see that you did enter the building at least 3 times throughout your stay.

   

  We thank you for reaching out.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  ***** *****

  Customer Service Manager | *** **** **

   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩