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I can’t get a refund after my theatre show was cancelled due to Covid

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Last year I used the Encore Tickets website to purchase four tickets to see The Shark is Broken at the Ambassadors theatre in London. The performance was supposed to be in May 2020 but it, along with everything else, was cancelled. I have emailed both the Ambassadors theatre and Encore Tickets and I get the same message: Don’t worry, we will get in touch with you when we have information about the performance you have got tickets for.

The thing is the Ambassadors is now advertising this play and selling tickets for it and I have heard nothing. I cannot speak to a real person; all I get is an email telling me that they are working through thousands of similar emails, and that they will be in touch soon. I have spent £221 on tickets and it seems that they have abandoned me – what is going on?

AM, by email

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The online reviews suggest that Encore Tickets is another company that has been unable to cope with having to refund large numbers of people who had cancelled bookings. There appear to be lots of others in the same boat as you, in some cases posting some very unflattering stories. This is an another company that is very hard to contact.

Ambassadors theatre said the booking was nothing to do with it, and that I had to take it up with Today Tix Group, which runs Encore. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing – during which even I started to lose the will to live – I was finally able to find someone at the company who sorted out the problem and sent you £221 worth of vouchers. The company said its records showed that it had issued you with credit last May, although it is unclear what happened to that.

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Happily, you will finally be able to rebook the tickets – I just hope the show is worth it.

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