Refunds for duped NYE revellers after company finds fraud evidence

More than 100 people paid $130 each to attend an “NYE on the Bay Boat Party” but were left fuming when a boat never arrived.

A ticketing company has decided to refund duped customers after its site was used to sell tickets for a fake New Year’s Eve boat party. Adelaide.

More than 100 people paid $130 each to attend an “NYE on the Bay Boat Party” in Glenelg, but were left embarrassed and angry when a boat never arrived at the pier to pick them up.

The event organiser claimed to have all-inclusive food and drink on board, and live DJ performances as passengers took in a prime view of the New Year’s Eve fireworks over Adelaide.

The tickets were sold on Eventbrite, who on Wednesday said they had determined the event was fraudulent and would issue refunds to the people affected.

A group of New Year's Eve revellers who thought they would be going on an amazing boat party in Glenelg ended up having a night they would rather forget after being caught in a suspected scam. Picture: TikTok / Cameron Chappell

“All evidence we have right now points towards the conclusion that the advertised ‘NYE on the Bay Boat Party’ in Glenelg was a fraudulent event, and we are therefore refunding all attendees in full today,” an Eventbrite spokesperson said.

“It can take five to seven business days for those refunds to show in the attendees’ accounts.

“We will learn from this case to continue to evolve our detection mechanisms to stay ahead of scammers, and we are co-operating with South Australia Police to support their investigation into the people behind this event.”

Adelaide TikTok user Cameron Chappell said he was waiting at the pier to be picked up with dozens of other people on New Year’s Eve when he went back to social media and Eventbrite to check the event’s details.

All traces of it had been deleted, he said.

The group had been expecting a night of food, drinks and live music on a luxury boat as they took in the New Year’s Eve fireworks. Picture: TikTok / Cameron Chappell

“Everything was gone. The Facebook page had been deleted, the event had been deleted and even the profile of the guy who we had been speaking to for the event is gone,” Mr Chappell said.

“There was supposed to be unlimited drinks, food and DJs.”

He said people had come from interstate for the event, and venues were too packed and rideshare services too busy for alternative plans to be arranged.

“It’s honestly just such a s*** thing to do. It’s not cheap for a night when you know you’re not going to get that money back,” he said.

“On the event (promo) it also said there was a free bus ride back to the city, but of course because it wasn’t legit, we all had to catch Ubers home.

The dozens of people caught up in the fraudulent event struggled to make other plans due to how busy Adelaide was on New Year’s Eve. Picture: TikTok / Cameron Chappell

“And the Uber ride home … $200 and it took us over two hours to find an Uber.”

South Australia Police said authorities were looking into the event.

“(Police) encourage anyone who has fallen victim to this scam to make a report to police,” a police spokesperson said.

“Police would like to remind people to be cautious when booking events online and through social media platforms.

“Conduct your own research through reputable company websites and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

People who were caught in the scam can make a report via the ReportCyber website.