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Email templates · Arts and entertainment venue

Email template to ask a venue for a ticket refund

You bought tickets and now something has gone wrong. The show was cancelled or postponed, the performer or lineup changed, the seats you paid for were not the seats you got, or you simply cannot go. Whether you are owed money depends on which of these it is. A cancelled event almost always earns a full refund from whoever sold you the ticket, including fees. A postponed event usually lets you choose between the new date and a refund, but the window to choose is often short. Not being able to attend is a favor you are asking for, not a right, and the tone should match.

Write rather than call because ticket refunds are processed by a back office, not the box office, and your email is the record. It shows what you asked for, when, and what you were told, which matters if you later dispute the charge with your card company.

Before you send

  • The order number, the event name, the original date, the seat locations and the total paid including fees. All of it is on the confirmation email.
  • Which seller you bought from. If you bought through a ticketing site or a reseller rather than the venue, the refund comes from them, and the venue may not be able to help.
  • The reason, stated in one sentence: cancelled, postponed to a date you cannot make, a change in the event, a seating problem, or a personal reason.
  • The seller's stated refund policy. Read it on the order page; quoting it back is the most effective line in the email.
  • What you want: a refund to the original card, a credit, or an exchange to another date. Ask for one.
Subject Refund request for order [order number], [event name] on [original date] 
Hi [venue box office or customer service],

I'm writing about order [order number] for [event name] on [original date], [number] tickets in [section and seats], for a total of [amount paid including fees].

[One sentence stating the reason, with the date. For example: the performance was cancelled and no refund has arrived, the event was moved to a day you cannot attend, or you have had a family emergency and are asking whether they will refund or exchange the tickets.]

[If it applies, add one sentence quoting the line in their refund policy that you believe covers this.]

I'd like a [full refund to my original payment method including fees, or an exchange to a specific date]. Could you confirm that you'll process it and let me know how long it takes to appear?

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Email address the order was placed under]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • For a cancelled show, expect a confirmation within a few business days and the money back within a couple of weeks. If the reply says refunds are "automatic" but nothing arrives in thirty days, write again with the date of the first promise.
  • For a postponed show, the reply usually gives you a deadline to request a refund instead of keeping the tickets. Meet it. After the deadline the tickets are yours for the new date.
  • A personal-reason request often gets a credit or an exchange rather than cash. That is a reasonable outcome; take it if the venue is one you would visit again.
  • If the seller ignores a cancelled-event refund for more than a month, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer. Most issuers require the dispute within sixty days of the statement showing the charge, so do not let a long back-and-forth run out the clock.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get me a refund for tickets 
Hi StandIn,

Please get a refund or exchange for tickets I bought and handle the back-and-forth with the seller.

The order: [order number, event name, original date, seats, total paid with fees].
Who I bought from: [venue, ticketing site, or reseller, with the account email].
What happened: [cancelled, postponed to a date I can't make, event changed, seating problem, or personal reason].
What I want: [refund to original card, credit, or exchange to a date].
Their refund policy: [quote or link, or "not sure"].

Contact the seller, cite their policy, follow up if they go quiet, and tell me when the refund is confirmed or when it's time to dispute the charge instead.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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