HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — Residents of Pennsylvania could be owed a refund if they bought a ticket to a concert/show/event that got canceled thanks to a new statewide settlement.

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a settlement that holds ticket reseller website boxofficetickets.com accountable for violations including a change in their policy that eliminated refunds for canceled events.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has entered into a settlement agreement, known as an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC), with online ticket reseller Secure Ticket Purchase, LLC and John Urich, who sold tickets online through the website www.boxofficeticketsales.com for alleged violations of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Law.

During the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of events, such as music concerts, Secure Ticket Purchase, LLC (Secure) changed its refund policy to only offer “store credit” for purchasers of tickets for canceled shows.

The website www.boxofficeticketsales.com has been one of the largest ticket resale platforms for Pennsylvania consumers, according to officials

As part of the settlement, Secure has agreed to fully refund any Pennsylvania consumer who purchased a ticket before November 19, 2021, to a show which was canceled and has not yet received a monetary refund from Secure. Secure has also agreed to immediately take appropriate steps to comply with the Pennsylvania ticket resale statute. Finally, Secure will pay restitution to the Commonwealth.

“Secure Ticket Purchase thought they could walk away with consumers’ hard-earned money by surreptitiously changing their refund policy in the middle of a pandemic,” said Attorney General Henry. “This settlement puts all ticket resellers on notice: if you deceive Pennsylvanians to maximize your bottom line, you will be held accountable.”

Secure offers tickets online for events all over the country, including Pennsylvania. In response to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions concerts and events in Pennsylvania were canceled due to safety concerns. Secure guaranteed ticket buyers a full and immediate monetary refund for a canceled event. The company then changed its refund policy, without notice, to a mandatory store credit and refused to provide monetary refunds for canceled shows, according to the Office of Attorney General’s investigation. 

Pennsylvanians who purchased tickets before November 19, 2021, through www.boxofficeticketsales.com for a show that was canceled and has not yet received a monetary refund should contact the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection by filing a consumer complaint online at www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/ or email consumers@attorneygeneral.gov on or before Monday, June 26, 2023.