Concerts in Lima: Indecopi initiates sanctioning proceedings against the promoter of Guns n' Roses and Kiss shows

Indecopi, through the Technical Secretariat of the Consumer Protection Commission No. 3, announced the initiation of a sanctioning administrative procedure against the company One Entertainment, for allegedly violating the Consumer Protection and Defense Code following the cancellation of the concerts in Lima of “Guns n' Roses” and the rescheduling of the event of the band “Kiss”.

In the case of the “Guns n' Roses” concert, the provider would have breached the rule by conditioning the refund of the money for tickets, indicating that it would proceed 45 days after the resumption of mass concerts in the country; and, provided that users have communicated until January 15, 2021, that they want the return, otherwise, they could only access vouchers to be used in other events.

Meanwhile, regarding the rescheduling of the “Kiss” concert, the company would have violated the Code by not making available to users the option of refunding tickets, indicating that the event was not canceled, and that, consequently, the tickets remained valid for a new date.

It should be noted that, according to article 97 of the aforementioned standard, when the delivery of the product or the provision of the service is not carried out in due course, consumers have the right to repair or replacement of the product, to a new performance of the service, or to the refund of the amount paid.

AUDIT ACTIONS

For its part, the Directorate of Auditing of Indecopi carried out two supervisions aimed at verifying compliance with the supplier's duties, such as:

• The holding of a new event or the return of the money paid.

• Inform the measures taken to address the impossibility of holding the events.

• That the service channels enabled are ideal for consumers to submit their doubts and/or queries.

The authority alerted the company to possible non-compliance, however, the company did not remedy such conduct and therefore recommended that the Commission initiate appropriate action.

WHAT ABOUT THE UNRETURNED MONEY FROM CONCERTS?

It has been approximately two years since various events, such as concerts, were canceled due to health restrictions imposed by the Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of people who had bought their tickets were left without knowing what to do and when they went to the companies involved, such as the one that sold them the ticket and the other one that was the organizer of the show, they received evasive answers.

Time passed and to this day consumers have not been refunded the money they paid.

Faced with this public and notorious fact, the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (Aspec) requested the urgent intervention of Indecopi - which is the competent body for consumer protection - to act immediately in defense of the thousands of affected consumers who have been abused throughout this time. “If he deems it appropriate, Aspec can help register those affected and send a relationship to Indecopi to make it easier for them, but something must be done and we must all collaborate because people are desperate,” said Crisólogo Cáceres, president of Aspec.

According to Aspec, action must be taken as quickly as possible so that the case is not time-barred. This is because the deadline for initiating proceedings before Indecopi is only two years after the offence was committed or became known and, given the time that has elapsed, we would be on deadlines.

“The injured people paid hundreds of soles each and received nothing in return, not even a real return schedule, which is unacceptable. What companies can't do is cancel a show and keep users' money. That is illicit appropriation and, therefore, even the Public Prosecutor's Office could intervene,” concluded Cáceres.

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