Carnival bands ‘no refund’ policy legal – lawyer - But goodwill important

Since Friday’s announcement that 2020 carnival events would be pushed back from April to October, owing to the continued spread of the coronavirus in the island, refunds have been the hot topic on social media. Irate revellers from across the globe have been using the platforms to lash out at the various bands for their strict ‘no refund’ policy, highlighting that the outbreak is no one’s fault and they should therefore be able to get back their money.

But, popular entertainment attorney, Ron Young says despite the unfortunate circumstances both parties have found themselves in, bands are not obligated to return any money.”As it relates to carnival, from a legal perspective, the customer and the carnival organisation would have entered into a contract for a costume, food etc for the April carnival. And while these extenuating circumstances are neither party’s fault, there is a doctrine of law called frustration that carnival organisers may rely on going forward,” he explained. “This is where an event occurs outside of the control of both parties which renders the contract as at an end and so each party essentially has to take their loss or gain. Carnival has tried to mitigate their situation by offering an alternative date in October, but for those who cannot make the October date and have paid down on costumes, that is where issue lies. And the Consumer Protection Act does not appear to address a situation like this so patrons may not have much recourse to the Consumer Affairs Commission,” Young said.

Although the law seems to be on the side of the carnival organisers, Young suggests the various bands should, as a sign of good faith, assist revellers as much as possible with the resale of costumes. This, he says will determine how many patrons rejoin their band come next year. “Carnival must ensure their messaging, tone and willingness to assist patrons is not overlooked. From a customer service perspective it may be a good idea for the bands to show goodwill by putting up and advertising a general webpage or social media pages through which patrons can post their costumes and sizes etc where interested patrons can contact those sellers. They should help patrons in any way other way they can to resell costumes,” he said. A social media search conducted by The Gleaner shows that at least one band has already begun to assist its patrons with the reselling of costumes.

Relief from liability

Giving details on a contract clause dubbed force majeure, he states that it is a legal doctrine under which a party may be relieved from liability for non-performance when “acts of God,” such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, drought, government restrictions or other extraordinary circumstances beyond the party’s control prevent fulfilment of contractual obligations. The coronavirus, in some jurisdictions, may be included under this clause.

“For big events like Carnival, patrons should be directed beforehand to terms and conditions that include what they (promoters) define as a force majeure event and what happens in a force majeure event especially as it relates to changes of date,” he said. But for the clause to benefit patrons, the attorney stressed the importance of paying attention to the fine print in contracts before signing.