Ye moye: who managed to get a refund for Kanye West concert tickets and how
The organizers of Kanye West's failed concerts in St. Petersburg promised to open the possibility of a refund for purchased tickets on October 12. However, some of the viewers have already been able to obtain compensation. We are talking about amounts in the tens of thousands of rubles. How they did it, as well as whether Say Agency will be able to refund all viewers, given the additional financial burden in the form of possible legal costs, is in the Izvestia article.
"I was buying a service, but I bought a hellish nightmare"
The fact that the shows of American rapper-provocateur Kanye West (Ye) scheduled for October 10 and 11 in St. Petersburg will not take place was announced by the organizer, Say Agency, only on September 30. But even before this statement, some of the audience decided to return the purchased tickets against the background of acute uncertainty around the concerts and achieved the result — despite the fact that the tickets purchased in the first days of the promotion were, according to the offer, declared non-refundable.
"I was buying a service, but I bought a hellish nightmare," Vladislava Konovalova, a producer from Moscow, told Izvestia. — We bought two tickets, each for 19 thousand rubles. Plus, there was a commission of about 4 thousand rubles. First, we tried to make a refund through Intiquets. We received a refusal. Next, they wrote pre—trial claims to Intiquets and Say Agency, and sent them by registered mail with an inventory. After the deadline for the response has expired, we have prepared lawsuits against Say Agency and Intiquets in the world court. They demanded full compensation for the cost of tickets, service fees and moral damage. In addition, we contacted Rospotrebnadzor. After that, the bank was contacted with all the documents, and a chargeback was made, but without a service fee.
Alyona Zhgun from St. Petersburg also bought a ticket at the start of sales — for 17 thousand rubles. Another 1.7 thousand rubles was the service fee. She also went from claiming and initially refusing to return to contacting Rospotrebnadzor and filing a lawsuit. At the same time, she tried to challenge the operation at the bank.
— On October 2, the refund receipt arrived, and on October 4, the money was credited to the card. The seller returned it himself, not the bank, as can be seen from the receipt from his cashier. Not in full, only 17 thousand rubles. I am not withdrawing the claim. The remaining charges in the case are the service fee, the penalty from September 17, moral damage, a 50% fine and postage. The penalty and fine are considered from the entire amount stated in the claim, and not from the remainder," she explained to Izvestia.
Money-back chats are multiplying on social media, where viewers of failed shows share successful cases. There are lawsuits in the courts. One of them, registered in the Preobrazhensky Court of Moscow, is worth 704 thousand rubles. Of these, 640 thousand rubles is the price of four tickets. In addition to the total amount, the plaintiff requests to collect a penalty for violating the deadline for refunding funds, compensation for moral damage in the amount of 100 thousand rubles, a fine of 50% of the amount awarded and court costs.
In addition, on October 4, it became known that bailiffs had seized the funds of Say Agency. The amount of restrictions was 115.5 thousand rubles. This case is the first in the framework of the litigation surrounding the musician's failed show in Russia. The enforcement proceedings were initiated on the basis of a list of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Samara. The court issued him on a civil claim.
How to get a refund of the service fee
Earlier it was reported that more than 100 thousand tickets were purchased in the first three days of sales. At the same time, the company itself promises to open the possibility of a refund only on Monday, October 12.
— I bought a couple of the same "promotional" tickets for October 10, sector D119, row 22. They cost 77 thousand rubles. I tried to issue a refund on the Intiquets website, but instead of confirming the transaction, an announcement popped up: "The refund service will be available from October 12," Olga Kovalskaya from Moscow told Izvestia.
It is illegal to hold consumers' money, lawyer Alexey Gavrishev explained to Izvestia.
— According to the law, when canceling a concert, the audience must be refunded the full face value of the ticket. Therefore, simply telling people to wait until October 12th is not enough if they have already claimed a refund. I would advise you not to wait, but to send a written complaint to the organizer and the person from whom the ticket was purchased. Article 52.1 of the "Fundamentals of Legislation on Culture" explicitly states that the full cost will be refunded if the event is canceled," the expert noted.
It is also possible to achieve a refund of the service fee, Gavrishev added, although it is more difficult.
— Intiquets' offer lists it as payment for the related service and specifically states that it will not be refunded even if the concert is canceled. Therefore, it is more difficult to automatically claim this 10% along with the ticket price. But if a person believes that no independent service for this amount was actually provided to him or the fee was imposed as a mandatory part of the purchase, this can already be challenged separately under the law on consumer protection," he explained.
Will Say Agency be able to refund money to everyone
Considering the number of tickets sold and their cost — from 9 thousand to 160 thousand rubles, some viewers have concerns about whether the organizer will be able to make a full refund at all. Skepticism is also associated with past negative experiences. In the spring of 2026, the same team organized concerts of rapper Flo Rida in Russia. Daria Dzyuba bought a ticket for 7 thousand rubles for the March concert of the performer in Krasnodar. Then, due to the conflict in the Middle East, the show was postponed to May. The girl issued a refund, as the new date was inconvenient for her, but, according to her, she still has not achieved results.
Industry representatives, however, are confident that the fears are unfounded.
— I think they will be given money without a trial. The organizers have already announced the procedure for refunding money for tickets," Eduard Ratnikov, president of the TCI concert agency, told Izvestia.
At the same time, some say that the additional financial burden on the agency will not help matters.
— If the audience simply wants to refund the money for the tickets and not demand any fines under the law "On Consumer Rights Protection", moral penalties, lawyers' fees, the organizers will settle with everyone. No matter how difficult it was for them. I guess they've already paid a huge fee to an artist who probably won't want it back. Unfortunately, the rule in this business is that payments are always made only one way. I do not see the organizers' direct fault for the fact that the event did not take place. But if the audience monetizes the situation, it won't lead to anything good. It will be an impossible story," said Andrey Agapov, Russian promoter and CEO of Sirius Concert.
Now, experts recommend keeping absolutely all digital and paper traces: the exact dates of sending the first emails, notifications of delivery of registered letters by Russian Post, official support refusals and any screenshots of unsubscriptions.
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