Rifflandia Entertainment Company is taking over the refund process from its hired third party after festival goers report a faulty refund process.
For four days and four nights, Rifflandia Festival brought big bands to its all-ages audience in the capital city from Sept. 11 to 14.
New this year: no cash/visa/debit was needed. RFID wristbands were the one-stop-shop for buying anything and everything at Rifflandia.
"We had a lot of positive user feedback on site, and the technology itself, but this process of refunds has not been smooth and we fully acknowledge that. It certainly should have been smoother," said Nick Blasko, Rifflandia Entertainment Company CEO.
If festival goers kept their wristbands they were able to apply for a refund for the leftover funds loaded through a third party site called Fever.
Some reported the site asking for an alarming amount of personal information.
"That immediately gave me red flags," said attendee Daniel Taylor.
"They asked for so much personal information. They asked for a driver's license number, a passport number. They asked for all your banking credentials and verification on your home address," he said. "It just seemed like a lot of information that would be as as simple as an e-transfer, or refund off your credit card."
For those who put in their personal information, some said they'd received emails that their information was incorrect. As a result, they were not issued a refund.
"It's been difficult and concerning for us too. We always want people to have a good experience," said Blasko.
Blasko says Fever and its payment platform, Tipalti, processes thousands of festivals in Europe and the United States and he hopes the snag is to do with adjusting to doing business in Canada.
"I think when we look at that now, we certainly see some hiccups on their side in terms of how communications were handled, and certain facts that were changing, adapting to actually the realities of doing business in Canada," he said.
"And I think that was potentially a learning block for them. We've been speaking with them, obviously, here hourly for days," said Blasko.
CHEK News reached out to Fever's communications team and has not heard back.
On the better business bureau website, Fever is listed with an alert citing a 'pattern of complaints' on "the company's fulfillment of services, refund processing, and customer service practices".
Now, a week and a half after the festival ended, Blasko says Rifflandia is taking over the refund process.
"At this point what's required of us is to not apologize on behalf of our partner, it's to just to take action," said Blasko. "Everyone who has requested a refund will get one, and that's our word."
Moving forward, Blasko says Rifflandia will be conducting a review of the RFID wristbands and their business relationships, promising next year simple and streamlined refunds at Rifflandia 2026.