Organisers for the ill-fated Wet’n’Wild Sydney NYE festival are still dealing with outstanding refunds, three months after the festival was cancelled due to inadequate crowd safety measures. Nine thousand ticket-holders received news of the event’s cancellation just hours before it was scheduled.
The Australian reports, NSW Fair Trading has received 140 complaints about refunds for the event and State Fair Trading Minister Stuart Ayres said a case manager had been appointed to handle these complaints.
Inquires by the Blacktown Advocate found that four outstanding refunds remained as of March 11th. The promoters One Cube Entertainment have made no comment about the outstanding refunds. Punters had initially paid $110 to $200 for a ticket to the event.
One Cube Entertainment initially proposed moving the event to Australia Day, however the rescheduled date was cancelled by Wet’n’Wild management and after a massive backlash from punters on social media and intervention from NSW Fair Trading, the promoters agreed to issue more than $1 million in refunds.
“It was about letting people know that the promoter couldn’t contract out of refunding the money – you cannot postpone New Year’s Eve,” Mr Ayres told The Daily Telegraph at the time. The sold-out festival boasted a lineup that included DJs Will Sparks, Tigerlily, and Yolanda Be Cool, and saw many punters drive interstate, booking hotels and other accommodation to attend the event.
For any outstanding refunds, contact Fair Trading on 13 32 20.
