The $50 deposit refund

[Grey]

Hi folks,

Sorry to bring on this topic.

I paid $200 for 4 Grey Cup tickets November 2011 when the window was open at ticketmaster.ca. I was not called to purchase the tickets and I don't have my deposit refund. I contacted ticketmaster and was told that I should contact Argos.

I sent email to deposits@100thgreycupfestival.ca yesterday but no response so far.

So I was wondering, would you mind sharing your inputs? How can I get my refund?

I have kept all the receipts for this deposit.

Thanks so very much for your attention.

[T-Bone]

I would call this number (416) 341-ARGO(2746). However my understanding is the deposits were non-refundable and that they were contacting people by e-mail not by phone. Best of luck.

[Hollaway]

Sorry to hear that Grey, but why would you wait this long to try and get your deposit back (about 8 months after)?

[Grey]

Sorry about the confusion, Hollaway.

I paid deposit in November 2011, and was hoping to purchase Grey Cup tickets sometime in May. I missed the email because the emails from Argos were sent to another email address that I haven't checked for a while. The purchasing time was schedule for early June and I missed it.

Today I got reply back from the festival committee that I could use this $200 for season tickets.

I live in Vancouver and won't be able to go to the Argos regular season games, although I am a die-hard Argos fan since I used to live in Toronto for a while.

So I request the committee to have this $200 used for my possible 2013 Argos Season Tickets purchase. Hope it makes sense, and sorry about the confusions.

Sorry to hear that Grey, but why would you wait this long to try and get your deposit back (about 8 months after)?

[Grey]

Hi T-Bone,

I got the email reply from the committee. It is non-refundable, and I hope to negotiate with the committee that I could use this $200 for 2013 Season Tickets, although I cannot go to any games, I would use those tickets for the gifts to my friends in Toronto.

I would call this number (416) 341-ARGO(2746). However my understanding is the deposits were non-refundable and that they were contacting people by e-mail not by phone. Best of luck.

[Hollaway]

I think I'm the one who didn't understand Grey, sorry, hopefully everything does work out and you use the deposit towards the tickets .

[Grey]

many thanks for the heads-up, all the best, will you be at the Grey Cup?

I think I'm the one who didn't understand Grey, sorry, hopefully everything does work out and you use the deposit towards the tickets .

[Hollaway]

No I won't, I have been to many games and a few eastern finals, but never to the Grey Cup, maybe one day as that is the ultimate party.

[1argoholic]

Grey I feel your pain as my wife and I just went through the exact same thing two weeks back. I was lucky enough to get tickets through friends who purchased extras but we did lose $200 in deposits. For us it'll still be cheaper for us since my wife put $50 X 4 down for expensive seats. The seats we have now are cheaper.

I kept asking my wife about checking her e-mail and finally she remembered that her regular e-mail couldn't be used in the machine at the Argo room at Grey Cup in Vancouver. It took this obscure e-mail that she never checks. Thus by the time she clued in it was too late. Thankfully I had two friends who came through. I'll be in scetion 219 and my wife and mom will be in 515 I believe.

Perhaps we should put our $200 down on a season ticket for next year and give it away.

[LLB997]

Boys, check your friggin emails if you are dropping that kind of coin. Expecting a personal phone call from the Argos or CFL is a bit unrealistic. I gave a valid current email, and i still got on the phone to ticketmaster and the Argos facebook when i heard nothing by March.

[Argos]

Normally if a deposit is placed, at the very least, you are guaranteed the right to buy tickets. This whole thing is very bizarre to me. How many weeks/months was the window to buy tickets? Were those dates outlined at the time of the deposit? Like most people, I have a million things going on most of the time, it's easy to forget something like this. I'll definitely be cautious of doing things like this in the future!

[1argoholic]

I was hammered at the Argo room and my wife is way more savy with this kind of stuff. The fact that it wouldn't take her everyday e-mail is what screwed us up. I'll have to tell her about the putting it toward a season tic.

[Gill The Thrill]

Boys, check your friggin emails if you are dropping that kind of coin. Expecting a personal phone call from the Argos or CFL is a bit unrealistic. I gave a valid current email, and i still got on the phone to ticketmaster and the Argos facebook when i heard nothing by March.

I wholeheartedly disagree...I don't think it's unrealistic to expect good custumer service and I think the Argos have screwed up big-time from a PR perspective....hoodwinking fans into $50 deposits amount to a total of $200 and not even guaranteeing tickets. Once I saw the words non-refundable, I stayed away from this deposit crap because I suspected it was done to generate media attention.

Generating media attention is not a bad idea at all, but when it's at the expense of fans who shell out money, the onus should be on them to call fans who've put down deposits. This is what I detest about e-mail, the onus is now indirectly put on the consumer to finish the transaction when it should be on the product seller imo.
Sure, some people like Argoholic may not mind putting the $200 to season tickets, but imagine the 100's, maybe 1'000s that were pissed and said to hell with the Grey Cup and to hell with the Argos....how does that improve your season ticket base and put faith in the teams customer service?...simply put, it does'nt.

I think this non-refundable system was underhanded if everyone who put in deposits were not guaranteed the oppurtunity to purchase tickets for the Grey Cup. I don't mind the team saying we're pushing season tickets and using the Grey Cup as a caveat to selling season subscriptions, that's upfront and understandable, but when they are not giving fans who've paid the Grey Cup ticket deposit by saving their seats, then I have a problem with it.

If they were going to do that, then they just should have sold season tickets offering those fans who've fully paid their season tickets the oppurtunity to buy tickets to the Grey Cup by a certain date, say June 1st or June 15th. After one of those dates, sell the remaining Grey Cup tickets at full price on public sale...forget the deposits....but then the Argos and the CFL could not say that the game was sold out a year ahead of time...big deal...they should still sellout the remaining tix within days of a public sale and the PR would have been more transparent. What they've done now is piss some, if not, many fans off by not guaranteeing Grey Cup seats and by forcing them to put their deposits into season seats?

Do you really think these P.O'd fans are really going to purchase seasons' next year??? I don't think so.

As for Grey Cup seats, I'll take my chances on Kijiji or Craigslist as the game draws near to decide if I want to go...sure the Argos may be there and it may be a tougher ticket to get, but they may not be and some fans may want to recoup some dough by just getting rid of their tix and getting some of their money back.

[flafson]

Are they going to open the whole stadium for the Grey Cup? The whole 55,000?

[AngeloV]

If they were going to do that, then they just should have sold season tickets offering those fans who've fully paid their season tickets the oppurtunity to buy tickets to the Grey Cup by a certain date, say June 1st or June 15th. After one of those dates, sell the remaining Grey Cup tickets at full price on public sale...forget the deposits....but then the Argos and the CFL could not say that the game was sold out a year ahead of time...big deal...they should still sellout the remaining tix within days of a public sale and the PR would have been more transparent. What they've done now is piss some, if not, many fans off by not guaranteeing Grey Cup seats and by forcing them to put their deposits into season seats?

They did do this. I was non committal on Grey Cup tickets, and in fact did not but them this year. When I ordered my season tickets my rep told me that as a season seat holder, I still had plenty of time to decide on the Grey Cup tix. In May, he called and told me that I had to make a decision, or they would be released to the public. I said no problem release them.

[Gill The Thrill]

Are they going to open the whole stadium for the Grey Cup? The whole 55,000?

Yes, they always open up the whole stadium for Grey Cup because the event itself does attract football fans from across the country. It's kind of sad in Toronto because you realize how much bigger the game and the league is out west when it is their fans and their events that make the Grey Cup week special....Some years, when the dome has hosted the game and the Argos were awful, it's been the out of town fans who've given the game atmosphere. Anyone remember 1992.

The dome has hosted the game only 3 times since 1989, despite being in the largest city in Canada. 1989 was hugely successful as the nearby Hamilton Ticats lost, in what many regard as one of the most exciting football games ever played, 43-40 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders....At the time, and possibly still it may have the best single game attendance for any sporting event at the dome as it was sold out with about 54'750 spectators.

The 1992 game was a disaster, as the Argos owners at the time (McNall, Gretzky and Candy) stupidly (although I feel saddened to have to affiliate the word "stupidly" with Candy, so maybe I should just say Ticat fan Gretzky and McNall) raised Argo ticket prices by 50% in some sections turning off many fans that the team attracted in a memorable 1991 season. They did not sellout the Grey Cup game and had two western teams in the big game. The Calgary Stampeders representing the west with Doug Flutie at QB, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who represented the East because the Ontario teams all struggled. The Argos were dead last at 6-12 in the East because ownership despite raising ticket prices, as mentioned, also allowed Matt Dunigan to leave for Winnipeg because of a contract dispute. One could argue that the Argos still have not recovered from this major blunder, especially at the box office. Despite bringing in players like Flutie and Damon Allen, the attendance never reached the levels near those of 1991 when the thought of closing the 500 level was unthinkable.

As for the Grey Cup game in 1992, Calgary beat Winnipeg 24-10 but attendance was awful. The announced attendance may have been more, but in reality there were only 39,000 at the game as the corners in the 500 level were empty. I also know for a fact that Bill Comrie, the BC Lions owner of the time, and owner of the Brick Furniture gave tickets away to Brick employees, so the game was even papered even though he may bought up the tickets.

Following the 1992 disaster, the GC was not played in Toronto for 15 years, until 2007. This was a disaster for the CFL because the event had become forgotten in Toronto and a whole other generation grew up not knowing about the Grey Cup in Toronto. This in a market that once held the game every 2 years in the 60's and 70's. The 2007 game was successful and was sold out despite the Argos not making the game and losing to Winnipeg in the East Final.

[Gill The Thrill]

They did do this. I was non committal on Grey Cup tickets, and in fact did not but them this year. When I ordered my season tickets my rep told me that as a season seat holder, I still had plenty of time to decide on the Grey Cup tix. In May, he called and told me that I had to make a decision, or they would be released to the public. I said no problem release them.

Yes, they called you and they should have...but some fans who put in deposits for just Grey Cup tickets were not called and they lost, not only their oppurtunity to purchase tickets to the Grey Cup game, but there deposits also if they were not willing to buy season tickets....this is what I mean by underhanded abd that is not good business PR for the long-term.

[flafson]

You guys want to tell me that they sold out the whole 55k so far in advance? I understand that people from around the country are going to watch it but 55,000?

[Mulder]

You guys want to tell me that they sold out the whole 55k so far in advance? I understand that people from around the country are going to watch it but 55,000?

Save for about 500-1000 that they have to hold back for family members of the team's playing.

[Gill The Thrill]

You guys want to tell me that they sold out the whole 55k so far in advance? I understand that people from around the country are going to watch it but 55,000?

Teams are allotted tickets and yes 55,000 can be sold, especially in recent years....if you did not bother reading my previous post, then look up the attendance figures on Wikipedia and read them for yourself. Lately they've been selling out the game in record time.

With all due respect, if you've followed the league you'd know that the Grey Cup sells. There has been years when the Grey Cup game and event have basically saved the league. As mentioned with all due respect, I hope you're a new fan or someone who has not followed the league ever, because asking a question such as whether the 500 level is open for the Grey Cup and whether they could actually sell 55,000 seats is bordering on trolling imo...I apologize beforehand, but get real....55,000 people pay to watch UFC, or worse Wrestlemania at the dome....Why would you not think that the Grey Cup can sell 55,000 seats at the dome? Sure, maybe ticket speculators and sponsors buy up some, maybe many, but do think that does not happen at the Super Bowl or at other championship sporting events.