Australian festival-goers be warned — don’t throw out your cashless RFID festival wristbands as soon as you’re done partying, because you’ll probably need it to get your leftover coinage back.
Some Aussie punters have already lost money this festival season, after chucking out their RFID wristbands before trying to refund their unused credit, but it’s not because festival organisers didn’t warn them.
For example, Woodford Folk Festival north of Brisbane implemented RFID wristbands for the first time this year, allowing festival-goers to load cash onto their wristbands for convenience, but as Fairfax Media reports, the system has led some people to lose their hard-earned money.
An email sent to Woodford Folk Festival ticket-holders on Wednesday noted that anyone who didn’t keep their wristband for the refund process are in a bit of a pickle.
“We understand that many of you might have disposed of your wristband by now,” said the festival’s Executive Director Bill Hauritz in the email. “If this is the case then unfortunately there is no means of accessing any unused credit.”
Mr Hauritz said any unclaimed funds will be given to Woodfordia Inc, which owns and manages the festival, and will eventually go towards “the building of a large shade house for all our plants along with a propagation area for new seedlings to help re-vegetate Woodfordia”.
A festival spokesperson said organisers were unable to reveal how much money has been left unused by festival-goers, but Hauritz did note that “a few of the deposits are larger than we expected and not just ‘loose change'”.
This year’s Woodford Folk Festival-goers were told during the event to keep their wristbands after leaving the festival. Other local festivals such as Lost Paradise, who have also implemented RFID technology, have warned punters prior to their events that wristbands must be kept in order to process any refunds.
Woodford Folk Festival organisers have established a portal where people who still have their RFID wristbands can go to access their unused funds, using the unique code on their wristband. The portal will be open until midnight on Sunday, 15th January, and refunds will be processed in bulk on Friday, 20th January.
So, even if your wristbands get a little gross this festival season, don’t throw them out until you’ve got that sweet, sweet refund.
Watch: Woodford Folk Festival 2016/17
