Ticket refunds at the Palace of the Republic: 75% of the price and not a ruble more

A Belarusian named Siarhei bought two tickets to a concert by the band Piknik at the Palace of the Republic for 490 rubles, but decided to return them because of health problems. At the box office he was told that only 75% of the price would be refunded.

Siarhei said that in early December he was offered a hospital bed, so he will not be able to attend the 5 December concert. According to him, he is a non-working pensioner, and the roughly 120 rubles withheld at the box office are a significant sum for him.

He said: "So it turns out that if they sell these tickets again, their income will increase even more. I think that's unfair."

The Palace of the Republic explained that under Article 217 of the Culture Code a ticket can be returned no later than one calendar day before the event. The buyer must be refunded at least 75% of the price, not counting additional fees, and the legislation provides no exceptions to this rule.

The Palace's specialists clarified: "A local legal act of the Palace of the Republic establishes that the buyer is refunded 75% of the ticket price,".

The box office added that the refund amount does not include the commission fee of electronic ticket operators, the booking fee, or other fees not included in the ticket price.

The full ticket price is refunded if the event was cancelled, replaced with another, or changed in time, venue or line-up of participants, or if it was called off. A buyer's illness is not on this list.