Idaho Rockfest ticket refunds still in question

It has been three weeks as of Friday that the canceled Idaho Rockfest 2018 was supposed to take place. People across the area say they still have not received their refunds.

“I’m a big RATT fan, so I saw that are going to be playing and I bought two tickets,” said Angela Olaveson. “One for my husband and one for myself. We were going to be going with some friends.”

Olaveson says she is one of those people who have still not seen a refund.

“Kept checking the Facebook page, kept checking my bank account,” Olaveson said. “No refund.”

On Thursday, she reached out to Melaleuca Field, who could provide refunds for those that directly paid at the field box office. However, for online sales she needed to check with Ron Heyrend, the promoter for the event.

“I gave Ron a call, left a voicemail and also text him,” explains Olaveson. “Gave him all the information he should need to provide my refund and hoping that he would do that. He did respond about four or five hours later. Basically he apologized, said he understood how frustrated I am and really pointed the finger at the production people, Voltstar.

“I text him multiple times even the day we found out that it was going to be canceled,” said Heyrend, the owner of EKR Entertainment and Productions Inc. “I got nothing, nothing from him at all. Matter of fact I haven’t released anybody’s name until yesterday and it was him. I told him at some point is going to have to happen.”

Heyrend believes not all its services were rendered.

“What we’re trying to do is get some of that money back,” says Heyrend.

Voltstar Productions say they played no part in the ticket involvement and the money they did receive was for their involvement in setting up.

“Sounds like he’s hoping for the non-refundable refund back,” said owner of Voltstar Productions, Brad Higbee. “We’re still trying to figure out our total cost because it started happening, there was still costs involved getting ready for the show”.

Heyrend says he is trying to work with the production company through legal action.

“One thing people can rest assure is that it is in the hands of legal agencies,” Heyrend said. “These are professional people that do this.”

“We in turn, we called my lawyers today,” said Higbee said. “We’ll have more information from them on Monday.

Because of contracts and a disclosure when purchasing tickets, Heyrend says there was no requirement on Voltstar’s side to refund the money.

“There’s no requirement on anybody’s side. I’m not even required to,” Heyrend said. “But, as a gesture of good faith to the people and your name, that’s what we would like to do.”

The Better Business Bureau advices when first year events happen to pay close attention.

“Its always in your best interest to try to look at the fine print,” said Jeremy Johnson, a marketplace manager with the Eastern Idaho BBB. “Be very careful when buying tickets just in case you do get into the situation make sure you ask the questions if this event doesn’t end up happening or if it ends up getting canceled due to weather what are my recourses, how can I get my refund.”

Olaveson thinks the whole situation is just disappointing, especially for any hopes of future events.

“It kind of makes you leery to go ahead and purchase tickets to the next concert that might show up,” Olaveson said. “Which I think is disappointing for the local community.”

If you or someone you know has not received a refund, the BBB urges you to file a complaint so they can better investigate.