A woman from Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie region of France, bought a ticket for a three-day festival at 130 euros. The organisers postponed the event by two months, citing low ticket sales, and then cut the programme to two days. The ticket price subsequently dropped to 50 euros, but organisers refused to refund her the difference.
Consumer affairs correspondent Valentin Dépret, responding on the TF1 lunchtime news programme, explained that sellers are legally permitted to adjust prices based on demand, a practice known as dynamic pricing. Under this system, he said, buying a ticket at full price when sales open does not automatically entitle a buyer to a refund if the price later falls, provided the event itself remains unchanged.
Substantial Change to the Event
The situation changes, however, when the event itself is materially altered. The French Civil Code, Dépret noted, allows buyers to seek a proportional reduction in price in cases of imperfect performance of a contract, and full cancellation of the contract when the agreed service has not been delivered.
Paris Bar lawyer Emma Leoty said the case represents a substantial modification of the original offer, pointing to the postponement, the loss of one day, and the steep drop in ticket price as evidence that the event is fundamentally different from what was sold.
Leoty outlined two paths for the buyer: attend the festival and seek a proportional price reduction, such as 30 percent to reflect the one day removed from a three-day event, or refuse to attend and demand a full refund, supported by documentation comparing the original and revised programmes.
Risk of Insolvency
If direct negotiation fails, Dépret said the next step would be to contact the consumer mediator. He warned, however, that local press reports suggest the festival organiser may face court-ordered liquidation if the event is cancelled due to poor attendance. In that scenario, any refund claim would need to be filed with the appointed liquidator rather than the company itself, with little prospect of recovery.
