Refunds for Tokyo Olympics tickets to fall short

Australian sports fans will lose at least 20 per cent of their money — and possibly much more — on Tokyo 2020 packages.

Tokyo National Stadium, the main venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Picture: AFP

Australian sports fans will lose at least 20 per cent of their money — and possibly much more — when they get a refund of cancelled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ticket packages.

The Australian can reveal that JetSetSports, owned by the US company CoSport, which is the authorised ticket reseller of tickets and hotel packages for Australians at the Tokyo Olympics, will not be able to refund the full moneys Australians have outlaid.

The refunds will also be delayed until late in the year.

While the ticket prices are to be refunded, less a 20 per cent handling fee, refunds for other expensive components of the Olympic ticket packages, such as hotel accommodation, tours and hospitality, are to be determined.

Those particularly hit hard are the family and friends of athletes who had purchased ticket pack­ages, costing many thousands of dollars, well before the corona­virus pandemic hit.

Australians who had wished to attend any of the highly sought ceremonies or swimming events at the Tokyo Olympics could only buy the tickets in accommodation packages through CoSport, in a monopoly market situation that is encouraged by the International Olympic Committee. Some of the packages cost more than $20,000. People involved in the industry say the ticket price only comprises about 15 per cent of a package price.

The Australian Olympic Committee is also a contractual partner with CoSport in the ticket resale but has no say in the terms the company has enforced on its customers. In a statement, the AOC said: “The AOC is working with Co­Sport to effect a refund for Australian ticket buyers who purchased tickets for the Games in Tokyo. The AOC acknowledges there will be an administrative charge for these tickets, reflective of costs incurred due to the impact of the pandemic.’’

CoSport has emailed customers saying it will keep a 20 per cent handling fee for the ticket refund, claiming that some of its costs have doubled in dealing with the Tokyo Olympic and Para­lympic 12-month postponement.

CoSport chairman Robert F. Long said in an email to customers that they would receive the face value of the tickets plus a shipping fee, but the company’s 20 per cent handling charge would not be refunded. In the message, CoSport also expects refunds will not happen until at least the third quarter of the year, when Tokyo 2020 will have returned moneys to the company.

CoSport blames the Japanese government and Tokyo 2020 for the financial shortfall.

“They decided to refund event tickets based solely on the terms and conditions included in your purchase agreement,” CoSport said, which didn’t include demands the Japanese organisers also pick up the extra costs of the ticket resellers.

CoSport says income from the handling fees already has been “expended’’, and costs such as fin­ancial processing and currency transactions will have doubled.

When the Tokyo Olympics were postponed on March 24 last year, CoSport offered its customers a 75 per cent refund only, or a 100 per cent credit for future Olympic packages.

Adding to the confusion, ­Tokyo2020 organisers have insisted international orders must be cancelled in writing otherwise they will still complete the ticket order, even though the Japanese government has imposed the international spectator ban.

In an interesting step, CoSport has given customers until April 9 to complete a survey form requesting the cancellation of the tickets. The form also releases Co­Sport from any further claim in relation to the cancellation.

CoSport says if people don’t return the form by April 9, it will “jeopardise your ticket refund’’.

It is unclear whether Japanese suppliers will reimburse the ticket resellers for the cancellation of all associated hotel rooms, tours and hospitality, much of which have already been paid for.