Tony Robbins ticket holders lose faith in months-long wait for refunds from events promoter SRA

Australians seeking ticket refunds in the thousands for a “life-changing” six days with Tony Robbins have been left in limbo.

Tony Robbins ticket holders seeking refunds of up to $9000 want to see the company behind the international motivational speaker’s postponed Australian events “walking the talk”.

Wendy Reiner told news.com.au she had bought a top-tier ticket for her 20-year-old son to attend the Date With Destiny 2020 event on the Gold Coast in April, offered at half price for $4000, before he “changed his mind” and then COVID-19 hit.

The six-day event at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre is marketed as a “supportive environment of total immersion” with Tony Robbins live, to “decide and create your own life-changing experience”.

Tickets cost up to $10,995.

It was rescheduled for September-October this year and then pushed back to April-May 2021, with “virtual” courses offered in the meantime.

RELATED: Tony Robbins ticket holders want refunds for Sydney, Gold Coast events

A virtual Unleash the Power Within event in October. Picture: Instagram / @tonyrobbins

Ms Reiner said she received a “massive number of emails” from events promoter Success Resources Australia regarding admission to other events but no answer to her refund inquiry.

“There’s no response to anything,” Ms Reiner said.

“They’re just continuing to send these emails to get you to register but they will not address anything else.”

The Gold Coast local told news.com.au her options were to get a $4000 credit for another SRA product, which she was not interested in, or to attend the event some time in the future.

SRA’s “100 per cent money-back satisfaction guarantee” is activated by attending the seminar and handing back your program materials.

“In the back of my mind, I’m totally convinced that there will be some other reason that I can’t get a refund,” Ms Reiner said.

She said she expected a company promoting people such as Tony Robbins, who is “all about accountability”, to “actually walk the talk”.

“In the middle of a pandemic as well, $4000 or some people they’ve spent $8000, that money goes a long way,” she said.

“It’s actually quite disgusting.

“When they can’t answer a phone call or an email, when the s**t hits the fan, that tells you exactly where their morals are, what they believe and what they think of you. They’re not about helping people.”

Ms Reiner doesn’t expect to ever see her money and said she will “never, ever, ever” spend such a significant amount on any personal development again.

“The universe takes care of people who aren’t honourable,” she said.

“Karma has a way of getting you in the end, doesn’t it?

“They know deep down that they’re incongruent with their own philosophy.”

Tony Robbins is an American author, coach and motivational speaker. Picture: Instagram / @tonyrobbins

Another woman, Angela from Newcastle, told news.com.au she paid $9000 for a Diamond ticket to the same DWD event including buffet lunches, massages and personal time with Tony Robbins.

“It had been on my bucket list for about five years and I had madly saved to be able to attend,” she said.

She said she first inquired about a refund in early 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an email seen by news.com.au, Angela was told by SRA she could attend the rescheduled event, transfer her tickets to DWD 2021, or transfer the full cost of her ticket to other Success Resources products and services.

“I’ve just got a trail of emails where I’ve had to chase them up and they didn’t reply to my email asking where the refund was,” Angela said.

She told SRA she was unable to attend the September-October dates due to work commitments and the event in April 2021 clashed with her postponed wedding date.

In another email from the events promoter, she was told in mid September they had “initiated the refund process”.

In mid October, Angela was told she would receive a refund on November 6, after “30 working days”.

But she was called by the company earlier this week to say the funds would be returned in “approximately 10-12 weeks” – in January or February.

The latest email reads: “We thank you for your understanding and patience whilst we look to accommodate everyone who is in a similar position to yourself.”

Angela said she just wants her money back “so we can move on and forget about it”.

“I do feel that if he (Tony Robbins) truly is walking the talk, that is who should be putting the pressure on this company,” she said.

“It’s extremely stressful.

“All faith in Success Resources Australia has been lost.”

His Date With Destiny Gold Coast event has been postponed until April-May 2021. Picture: Supplied

ROBBINS EXPECTS REFUNDS TO BE PAID

Tony Robbins’ spokeswoman Jennifer Connelly told news.com.au the motivational speaker had asked SRA to action the refunds.

“Upon learning about this situation, Mr. Robbins asked Success Resources to issue refunds for the 2020 live Unleash the Power Within in Sydney and Date with Destiny on the Gold Coast events to ticket holders who have requested them,” she said from New York City on Thursday.

“It is Mr Robbins’ expectation that Success Resources promptly processes all refund requests.”

Asked about the delay in issuing refunds, SRA told news.com.au it is committed to honouring ticket refunds for clients who “qualify”.

“Success Resources Australia is grateful for its loyal and compassionate clients and the patience they have shown us during this unprecedented year,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

“As a live events company, our industry has faced some of the biggest challenges caused by the global pandemic.

“Success Resources has been and continues to contact all clients that are requesting refunds.

“Refund requests continue to be processed and we are committed to honouring the requests from our clients that qualify for a refund.

“We apologise to our clients whose refund has been delayed and we appreciate their support as we navigate through this process.”