Superintendency warned businessmen who have canceled concerts that they have to return the money

This year saw one of the most scandalous moments in the events and entertainment sector in the country. A day before its start, the announcement was made of the cancellation of the Jamming Festival. Faced with this type of adversity, the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce proposed strict rules to prevent more citizens from being affected by this type of non-compliance.

Initially, the entity stands out, and according to the delegation for jurisdictional matters, from 2020 to date 1,159 lawsuits have been received against companies in the events and entertainment sector for the modification or cancellation of events. It should be borne in mind that events began to resume a few months ago, when the coronavirus pandemic in the country began to lose the lethality that it initially had.

Of the more than 1,000 complaints, 589 have been established alleging a violation of rights and the effectiveness of the guarantee because the service was not provided.

Now, with the statements made by the agency, it is ordered that claims associated with guarantees for the cancellation or modification of shows, arising from compliance with the measures to contain the pandemic, must be processed under the terms and deadlines described in article five of the Decree 818 of 2020.

This, then, means that in case event organizers receive requests for withdrawal or withdrawal, for example, they will be able to refund or refund the money up to one year after the health emergency ends. This is valid for shows scheduled from March 12, 2020 until the end of the emergency that, so far, would be decreed on April 30, 2022. All reasons other than those already mentioned must be processed in accordance with the rules of the Consumer Statute.

It was also suggested that the Superintendency has the full power to order “any kind of measure” to protect citizens who are exempt from being victims of damages in the event of suspension, cancellation or rescheduling of events. Consumers were also invited to lodge sufficient complaints if their rights were violated before the Office of Jurisdictional Affairs of the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce.

The SIC circular states that organizers and promoters of public shows “shall provide timely, clear, truthful, sufficient, verifiable, understandable, accurate and appropriate information to consumers about the suspension, cancellation or rescheduling of public performing arts performances”.

It was last March when the Superintendency announced that it would open an administrative investigation against the organizers of the 2022 Jamming Festival, in which artists such as Don Omar, Caifanes and UB 40 were going to be presented in Ibagué, for the failure to submit any information required by the entity.

“On the occasion of requests for information made to the company 'Buena Vista Eventos E.U. ', the Superindustria will open an administrative investigation for non-compliance with instructions by not submitting the information required since March 11 of the current, as well as for not attending or attending the working group convened by urgently by this authority by March 14 causing harm to consumers”, said the entity.

This decision by the Superindustria corresponds to the request of the authority that sought to prevent possible damage to the attendees of this concert due to some of the changes that the organizers had announced in relation to the event, in which days prior to the total cancellation, which in fact was announced by the Mayor's Office of Ibagué, and not directly by the organizers, it was rumored that it would not take place.

It also asked to verify the legal consequences by announcing the cancellation of this event one day before it took place, in order to determine whether there was a violation of the legal budgets for consumer protection, and at the same time requested to issue requests from the company 'Operaciones y Servicios Turísticos S.A.S' who are the owners of the park in which the concert was to be held, as well as the Mayor's Office of Ibagué.

“The Superintendency orders the cessation of the promotion, advertising and sale of the event 'Jamming Festival 2023' by the same company, until there is an effective response and solution to the events that occurred with the event offered, announced and sold for this year (2022),” said the entity.

Finally, he requested that the multiple complaints be transferred to the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation for the purpose that the accused entity determines, within its competence, whether crimes have been committed which will require a sanction, as have been requested by hundreds of citizens who had purchased their tickets for the event that was to be held develop for three days.

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