ComplaintsforTaste USA Food and Drink Festivals

• Initial Complaint

  06/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  BBB unable to locate business

  More info

  On May 4th, 2023, I purchased two tickets through the booking service ********** for the Buffalo Chocolate, Wine, & Whiskey Festival hosted by TasteUSA. This event was due to happen on May 20th the same year and the tickets costed $118.04. The next day on May 5th, the date of the ticket purchasing deadline, ********** sent out an email around 3pm saying that the event has been postponed until at least Fall 2023 or possibly until 2024. The reason according to the email was “to make sure we have enough chocolate vendors”. Now, it says it will not happen until March 23rd of 2024. I have just started a new job and will be on a probationary period where i cannot request off for the next 8 or so months, making it impossible to ensure that I can get off on a random day with whatever amount of advance the company decides to give, so I needed to be refunded for this issue. I emailed this company through ********** the day I received the email. Two days later, no response, so I tried to talk directly to EventBrite. I have not received anything from them. I decided to contact TasteUSA directly and it has been a full month since emailing them with no response. I decided to look into the company more, and found that on their ********** page they have cancelled or postponed about 4/8 events they have posted. This obviously made me suspicious so I decided to look up online reviews and found that many people have dealt with lack of communication from them after the company has postponed multiple times or even canceled with no refund. I am very upset about this situation, especially with the amount of money I have seemingly lost. I filed a dispute charge with my credit card company since TasteUSA is a scam/fraudulent company and pray that I can receive my hard earned money back. At the moment, TasteUSA has disputed the charge back and is preventing me from getting a refund. For anyone thinking about purchasing ANYTHING from this company, please do not do so.

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  BBB unable to locate business

  More info

  I was supposed to attend an event hosted through this company in June but found that the event was rescheduled to 2023. After realizing that the event has been rescheduled multiples over the course of multiple years I decided I no longer wanted to attend. I have now sent 2 emails plus a filled out a contact form on their website and requested a refund and have yet to hear a word after a month. I paid $80 for 2 tickets and want this money back.

• Initial Complaint

  01/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  BBB unable to locate business

  More info

  I purchased 3 tickets to the “Philly Chocolate Wine and Whiskey Festival" on 11/30/21 for $145.41 as a Christmas present. The event was scheduled for 1/29/22.Leading up to today's event, weather alerts for an impending Noreaster storm were being broadcasted in my state of NJ. I messaged the event coordinator on 1/27/22 through *********** site asking if the event would be rescheduled due to the storm (hitting Philly and NJ with heavy snow). I got no response. Governor ****** declared a state of emergency and blizzard warning on 1/28/22. No cars were able to drive on the roads as travel would be difficult to impossible. Travelers who NEEDED to be on the roads were urged to bring a winter emergency survival kit. The storm hit Philly and NJ last night (1/28/22). My area of Barnegat, NJ got about 14 inches of snow. I was never contacted by the event with an update on whether the event was canceled or rescheduled. I tried to find a phone number to call and only found another email contact form to fill out. This business has shown nothing but poor communication and truly disappointing customer service. I contacted ********* explaining the situation and they claimed that since the event was not actually canceled I would not be able to get a refund through them. I was told to contact the event coordinator again. I sent a second message requesting a refund due to the situation which is out of my control. I physically could not drive to attend the event. I received no response. I am out $145.41 and there is no communication from the business, and no apparent sympathy for my situation from **********. Taste USA Food and Drink Festivals had listed a no refund policy HOWEVER, there are always extenuating circumstances such as a BLIZZARD, where I did not make the choice to not attend. Please help me to rectify this situation. I am attaching pictures of the snow fall, a receipt of my purchase, and a declaration of the state of emergency. Thank you.

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