ComplaintsforCoSport

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  It is now 10NOV and I still have not received any refund for the Olympics tickets I purchased. My purchase was over $3k for all the tickets. I know many refunds have already been issued, but CoSport continues to say they are waiting to receive the funds. Their narrative continues to be We are still awaiting the refund for the spectator ban from the ***** 2020 ******************* We will begin processing customer refunds once funds are received. You will receive an email updating you of your status once your payment has been processed

  Business response

  11/22/2021

  November 20, 2021

  *******************
  PSC 704 Box 3287
  Apo, CA 96338
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: **********************

  CID 320857

  Dear **************,

  As per our recent email notification, your refund check has been processed and sent on November 16, ****************************************************** your CoSport Account.  If you do not receive it over the coming days / weeks, please contact us so we can help further.

  Thank you for your patience.

  ************************

  President, CoSport

  Customer response

  11/30/2021

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  

  I have received the refund check today, 01DEC and consider this case closed.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  09/25/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  CoSport sold me around $1000 in Paralympics tickets. They originally opened up a short window where we could file for refunds in 2020 (about a month). This was never advertised; one had to look it up online. I missed it by a week or two. Later, when the Paralympics were deemed "no spectator" we were able to file for refunds again. I did so and followed all their steps. It's now past the closing of the Paralympics and I have yet to receive a refund. Their only excuse this entire time is that they are awaiting a refund from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Committee before they will issue a refund. They can provide no status on any actions beyond alleged "hopes" that it will happen this month. This month is nearly over. And now I see that they are under class action lawsuits for failing to provide 100% refunds to others. I have received zero dollars in refund. How do I get them to refund money for tickets we were not able to use? If I have to join a class-action lawsuit, how?

  Business response

  10/05/2021

  October 5, 2021
  
  **** ****** *** ** *** ** *** *** ** ***** ******* ****** ***** ******** ******* ************************
  
  
  ****  ****** * ***** ** ******* ******
  
  Dear Mr. *******
  

  In response to your inquiry about your refund, we are still waiting to receive the funds back from Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee so that we can refund our customers.  As outlined in our previous communications, the only information that has been conveyed to us from the Organizing Committee is that the refunds would be sent to us after the end of the Paralympic Games which was September 5, 2021.  Therefore, we are expecting to receive those funds any time between September 5 and up to 85 days after that date which is the contractual deadline for all accounts to be reconciled between ATR’s and the Organizing Committee.  We certainly hope to get this process completed over the coming weeks.
  

  I can confirm that you have completed all necessary paperwork to expedite your refund once we receive the funds from Tokyo.
  

  Please contact me directly with any questions.
  

  Best regards,
  

  Robert F. L***
  President, CoSport  

• Initial Complaint

  09/04/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased six individual event 2020 Olympics tickets from Cosport way back in 2019 and 2020. I am including copies of these purchase invoices. USA fans were, unfortunately, banned by the Japanese government from attending the Tokyo Olympics in March 2021. Accordingly, I quickly requested refunds of my individual event tickets back in mid-April 2021, when Cosport then required a written refund request for the previously purchased tickets that could no longer be provided. I am including a screen shot of the refund request confirmation for those six individual event tickets. Fyi, Step 2 was a June 30, 2021 email sent by Cosport directing ticket purchasers to complete an entirely online home address re-confirmation through their Cosport account; this was completed in their system on July 1, 2021. It is now September 2021, and I still have not received the refund for the six individual event tickets and have not received confirmation that one is forthcoming to me.

  Business response

  09/07/2021

  September 7, 2021
  

   

  ******* ****** *** *** ****** *** * *** ********** ** ***** ******* ****** ***** ******** ******* ************************* ******* ******** *** ****** **** *** *******
  

  I have reviewed your account and note the following:
  

  Order numbers ****** *** ****** (additional orders) were refunded to you on July 17, 2020 as per the Tokyo 2020 refund guidelines. 

  Order ****** was claimed as a chargeback as a result of your filing with your bank.  This suspends the account until the account can be balanced with recovery of the unauthorized fees outside of the Tokyo 2020 refund guidelines.

  Therefore, once your account is balanced to ensure fairness to all customers when issuing refund amounts, we can release the refunds on order numbers:  ******* ******* ******* ******* ******* *** ******* 

  All other necessary paperwork has been filed and is in order to process your refund. Your account will remain suspended until the account is balanced and further refunds will not be processed.
  

  Please feel free to contact me or any of the CoSport Team with any questions. 
  

  Best regards,
  

   

  ****** ** **** ********** *******

  Customer response

  09/07/2021

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  As Cosport notes, I have completely complied with their draconian refund process for the six individual ticket order numbers:  ******, ******* ******* ******* ******* *** ******.  As such, there is absolutely no reasonable basis as to why the refunds for those individual tickets have not already been sent.
   
  With regard to random, other ticket orders not at issue, I note that:  any other Olympics tickets were likely subject to different terms and conditions (Cosport decided to change them repeatedly during the last couple of years); resolution of any outstanding issues with those other, random tickets would appear to lie between Cosport and ****; and, those other tickets are irrelevant to, and have no bearing on, the six individual ticket orders (and refunds) at issue currently. 
  
  To be crystal clear, these six orders are six separate and distinct ticket transactions, Cosport unilaterally dictated the onerous conditions to receive these six individual ticket refunds (which really should have been automatic given Japan's complete ban on fan attendance), and Cosport is now clearly refusing to refund the money that it has unconscionably held on to for the last couple of years.
  
  How do Cosport's actions differ from fraud and/or unjust enrichment?

   

  Regards,
  

  ******* ******

  Business response

  09/15/2021

  ********* *** **** ******* ****** *** *** ****** *** * *** ********** ** ***** ******* ****** ***** ******** ******* *************************
  
  CoSport Customer ID: ****** **** *** ******* 
  

  All of your CoSport orders were placed from the same account (CID ******).  Each order is a separate transaction but all within the same account.  As previously mentioned, once your account (CID: ******) is balanced, we can release the refunds on order numbers:  ******* ******* ******* ******* ******* *** ******* 
  

  This is to ensure fairness to all customers when issuing refund amounts that are due as a result of the special circumstances of Tokyo 2020 postponement and ultimate spectator ban.
  

  All other necessary paperwork has been filed and is in order to process your refund once you agree to balancing your account. We will promptly issue your refund due once this is completed.  However, your account will remain suspended until the account is balanced and further refunds will not be processed.
  

  I hope this clarifies the chargeback action you have taken with your bank.  Please feel free to contact me or any of the CoSport Team with any questions. 
  

  **** ******** ****** ** **** ********** *******

  Customer response

  09/18/2021

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  I absolutely, unequivocally, and unqualifiedly reject this response.  CoSport continues to refuse to honor its own agreement that it unilaterally instituted earlier this year. Specific responses to their statements are below.
  

  "All of your CoSport orders were placed from the same account (CID ******)." 
  True.

  
  "Each order is a separate transaction but all within the same account." 
  True, but the second phrase is completely irrelevant.

  
  "As previously mentioned, once your account (CID: ******) is balanced, we can release the refunds on order numbers:  ******* ******* ******* ******* ******* *** ********
  Patently false.  Though, admittedly, I have absolutely no idea what “balance” is being referred to.  These six individual Olympics tickets are the only outstanding transactions between CoSport and me.  CoSport instituted its own refund process and forms earlier this year, and those forms were timely returned for these six individual tickets.  It should be noted that this refund process included adding exorbitant and unearned fees for services that CoSport did not provide (if no Olympics tickets were provided, how can there be a ticket “handling fee”?).  CoSport maintains total and complete control over these funds.  CoSport now unjustly refuses to provide refunds for these six individual tickets even after compelling Olympics fans to agree to its newly concocted, onerous, refund policy under duress. Olympics ticket purchasers had no viable alternative other than to accept CoSports’ new and unreasonable refund terms within two weeks since, as they threatened, “Failure to meet this deadline will jeopardize your refund.”  End of story.

  
  "This is to ensure fairness to all customers when issuing refund amounts that are due as a result of the special circumstances of Tokyo 2020 postponement and ultimate spectator ban."
  How is this statement relevant to anything?  The 2020 Olympics banned spectators way back in March.  What would have really ensured fairness to all customers would have been that the refunds for Olympics tickets were automatically provided back in April.  Any legitimate business would have done this, without question or hesitation.
  As a good example, I had booked a non-refundable hotel room in Tokyo for the Olympics in 2020 where I had never previously stayed and had no other previous interactions with at all.  Once the 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021, they took the initiative and reached out to me about cancelling the non-refundable room and getting a full refund.  This was totally unexpected and clearly illustrates how fair and ethical businesses operate under extremely trying circumstances:

  
  “We truly appreciate you for choosing of ‘**** ********* via Expedia. As you know, Tokyo Olympics are postponed to the next year.  We would like to contact you for confirming your reservation from July 23 to August 9.  Please kindly contact us below until June 30th, if you would like to cancel the booking.  We will not receive the cancel fee under this circumstance.  Thank you very much for your continuous support.”
  
  "All other necessary paperwork has been filed and is in order to process your refund once you agree to balancing your account."
  Balance?  What balance???  This is the very first time that I have been made aware of any sort of balance.  Cosport never previously informed me about this imaginary balance.  The last communication I had with CoSport was a request made to them on 8/5/2021 requesting a status update on my refunds for these six tickets, to which they politely responded, “Unfortunately, I do not have a date or date range.”  Nothing notifying me of this spurious balance.  Nothing stating that they will be unable to offer refunds until this bogus balance is addressed.  Nothing explaining why they suspended my account.  This behavior is actually quite consistent with CoSports’ continued pattern of coercion and deception.  Indeed, it makes one wonder how it and/or its affiliated entities were approved by the US federal government for a PPP loan to continue to engage in this type of behavior. 

  
  Now, all that being said, there is absolutely nothing to balance, nor is there anything additional to agree to.  CoSport’s onerous, one-sided, revised terms and conditions for these six ticket purchases were already agreed to months ago.  The only CoSport “balance” that needs balancing is the six individual Olympics ticket refunds.

  
  "We will promptly issue your refund due once this is completed." 
  There is absolutely nothing to complete.  The refunds are long-overdue for the six individual Olympics tickets purchased as previously agreed.
  However, your account will remain suspended until the account is balanced and further refunds will not be processed.
  I have no idea what this mythical “balance” is that CoSport keeps making up.  Why did CoSport decide to suspend the account, and what are the related implications? In any case, all I need is to receive the six individual Olympics ticket refunds that were agreed to on CoSports’ own forms.  These six individual Olympics tickets were paid for years ago, these six individual Olympics tickets were cancelled months ago, and the refunds for these six individual Olympics tickets are now well overdue.

  
  "I hope this clarifies the chargeback action you have taken with your bank."
  Actually, it does not clarify why the agreed-to refunds have not been sent.  I am not sure what bank is being referred to.  However, if there is a concern with any other, random transactions between CoSport and **** or another third-party entity that isn’t one of the six individual Olympics tickets at issue, then the following is ****’s telephone number:  ************.  As I am not a party to the undoubtedly numerous disputes that CoSport has with any third parties, CoSport needs to contact **** for any lingering or outstanding disputes between CoSport and ****, the Japanese government and organizers (to whom CoSport attempted to shift responsibility for refunds, as if they were involved with any of CoSports’ nefarious activities, and as quoted below), or whichever third-party entity with whom they are currently dealing. 
  “Although CoSport and other Olympic entities encouraged the Japanese Government and organizers to refund all costs incurred by international spectators, they decided to refund event tickets based solely on the Terms & Conditions included in your purchase agreement.”

  
  To be crystal clear, there are no other outstanding transactions, besides the six individual ticket refunds, between CoSport and me.

  
  "Please feel free to contact me or any of the CoSport Team with any questions." 
  The only outstanding question is:  How do CoSport's actions differ from fraud and/or unjust enrichment?

   

  Regards,
  
  ******* ****** 

  Business response

  09/24/2021

  September 24, 2021
  

  ******* ****** *** *** ****** *** * *** ********** ** ***** ******* ****** ***** ******** ******* *************************
  
  CoSport Customer ID: ******
  

  **** *** *******
  

  Below is a breakdown of your customer account.  You can see the refund amount due and details to balance your CoSport account:

  
  CustomerID  OrderID     SessionCode TicketCategory Quantity Refund Amt
  ******        ******      *******              B                 2       $368.72
  ******        ******      ***                                                   $35.00
  ******        ******      *******             A                  2      $281.39
  ******        ******      *******             C                  2      $582.19
  ******        ******      *******            C                  2       $339.61
  ******        ******      *******           C                  2       $339.61
  ******        ******      *******            C                  2       $242.58
  ******        ******      CHARGEBACK FEES                     ($1,681.45)
                TOTAL REFUND DUE                                              $507.64
  

  The unauthorized additional refund amount taken on order ****** causes the account imbalance and it must be balanced prior to additional refunds being issued. 

  I hope this clarifies your question on balancing your account. Please contact me directly with further questions.
  

  ****** ** **** ********** ******* ************

  Customer response

  09/29/2021

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  I unqualifiedly and unambiguously reject this utterly ridiculous counteroffer as Cosport continues to just randomly concoct fictions. 
  
  The only thing at issue here are the six individual ticket refunds.  To be clear, this latest red herring, ticket order ******, has absolutely no bearing on the refunds currently due.  It was not one of these six individual tickets currently at issue.  I will attempt to upload that separate ticket package purchase for reference.  We purchased a ticket package for $6,725.80.  Then, we were refunded $6,725.80, and not one penny more.  Thus, the “balance” for this ticket package is zero.  As such, all is now “balanced” with that completely unrelated purchase, and there is no current imbalance.  As the invoice shows, there is no fictional $1,681.45 referenced anywhere on this ticket package purchase confirmation.  Not once.  Not anywhere.  Thus, how can there be some sort of voodoo accounting balance remaining on this unrelated purchase?  If Cosport is attempting to assert that the Tokyo Olympic Committee has somehow charged them this mythical $1,681.45, then Cosport needs to contact the Tokyo Olympic Committee as that would be a transaction solely between Cosport and the Tokyo Olympic Committee.  I was never a party to another, separate transaction for $1,681.45, if that transaction actually exists.  Accordingly, based upon the invoice, there simply cannot be any outstanding balance left at all between Cosport and I for this entirely unrelated ticket package purchase order *******
  
  Again, just to be crystal clear, this imaginary, unsupported amount of $1,681.45 is just some extortionary number that Cosport created out of thin air in order to hold our six individual ticket refunds hostage.
  
  Cosport is, again, attempting to shift focus away from and obscure how egregious its pattern of behavior continues to be.  As an aside, I do not currently have any access to “my” account since, as they have previously confirmed, Cosport has unilaterally suspended it for nefarious reasons. 
  
  Unlike Cosport, I do not want to receive any more than what was paid for the six individual tickets at issue, nor do I want anything less.  Fans were banned by the Olympics in March, so full refunds should have been sent in April.  That’s only fair, right?  As has been shown repeatedly, all that can logically remain at this point as a “balance” is the refunds for the six individual tickets that have been unjustly kept by Cosport for its own enrichment.  As supported by the six individual ticket invoices originally uploaded, Cosport has appropriated over $2,700 from us and continues to unjustly refuse to refund that money.
  
  At the end of the day, I sincerely hope that the New Jersey BBB will take all necessary steps to ensure that this type of predatory, fraudulent behavior is well-publicized there (and, across the US, for that matter) as a dire warning to better protect unsuspecting consumers from this syndicate (********* *** *** ******) in the future.

   

  Regards,
  

  ******* ******

  Business response

  10/08/2021

  ******* ** **** ******* ****** *** *** ****** *** * *** ********** ** ***** ******* ****** ***** ******** ******* ************************* ******* ******** *** ****** **** *** *******
  

  The facts are that the banking records indicate that you have received $1,681.45 of un-approved funds as a result of the chargeback that you filed with your bank. This amount is over the amount of the refund due to you.  Those unauthorized funds were taken from our account. If that is not the case, you will need to provide us written proof that these funds were not received by you as a result of your filing a chargeback with your bank and that the chargeback was denied by your bank.  Our financial records indicate differently. 
  

  We cannot allow you or anyone to receive refunds that follow a different refund policy guideline than all other CoSport customers. Tokyo 2020 set the refund policy of Face Value for ticket refunds and our Terms and Conditions clearly state that refunds will be at Face Value for all customers.  You agreed to those Terms prior to purchase. 
  

  As already mentioned, receipt of un-authorized funds by way of a chargeback must be cleared on your account before the remaining balance due will be paid to ensure fairness to all customers.  I have again outlined below the allowable refund due if you choose to proceed:
  
  CustomerID  OrderID     SessionCode TicketCategory Quantity Refund Amt
  ******        ******      *******              B                 2       $368.72
  ******        ******      ***                                                   $35.00
  ******        ******      *******             A                  2      $281.39
  ******        ******      *******             C                  2      $582.19
  ******        ******      *******            C                  2       $339.61
  ******        ******      *******           C                  2       $339.61
  ******        ******      *******            C                  2       $242.58
  ******        ******      CHARGEBACK FEES                     ($1,681.45)
                TOTAL REFUND DUE                                              $507.64
  

  I hope this clarifies your question on balancing your account. You are welcome to contact me directly with further questions.
  

  ****** ** **** ********** ******* ************

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased tickets to an olympic event, and CoSport refuses to issue me a refund unless I agree to let them keep a 20% handling fee and waive any legal rights I have to my money. CoSport failed to uphold their contractual obligations to issue me the tickets I purchased, and therefor has forfeit their rights to maintain any portion of my original payments. I did not cancel my purchase, request a refund, or authorize CoSport to withhold the tickets. Now that the event has passed, I have asked for a full refund based on CoSports failed delivery.

  Business response

  08/20/2021

  August 18, 2021
  
  ***** ********** *** ********** ****** ********** ** ***** ***
  
  
  ******* ****** ***** ******** ******* ***********************
  
  
  ******** ***  ****** * ***** ****** ****** **** *** ***********
  

  CoSport and other Olympic entities were encouraging the Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020 to refund all costs incurred by international spectators, but the organizers decided not to and are going to refund Individual Tickets based solely on the Terms & Conditions included in your purchase agreement.
  

  This means you will receive a refund totaling the face value of each ticket you purchased plus the shipping fee. This is exactly the amount of refund that the Organising Committee is returning to us.
  

  We hope you understand that CoSport is unable to refund the 20% handling fee, as that fee already has been expended to develop and implement the ticketing program. In fact, we have been working on these Games a year longer than usual, and due to the refund process, some of our costs, such as financial transaction processing fees, will be duplicated.
  

  Organizing committees rely on the services of Authorized Ticket Resellers, such as CoSport, to conduct the international ticketing program – and allow us to charge a handling fee to cover the costs of doing so – so we argued Tokyo 2020 should refund 120 percent of face value to ticket purchasers, but they decided not to. We are not happy with the Japanese organizers either.
  

  I wish circumstances were different, but there is nothing we can do to change the process at this point.
  

  The biggest reason for the release is that CoSport plays the roll of an intermediary between you and Tokyo 2020, and, ultimately, it is decisions made in Japan and not by CoSport that have resulted in the damages you may incur.
  

  We will not take action without a signed confirmation from you.
  

  CoSport’s business has been damaged by the Japanese decisions, and every additional day CoSport works on Tokyo 2020, the company continues to lose money. Tokyo 2020 is not paying CoSport to manage and implement its refund process. Nevertheless, CoSport is committed to helping its customers through this process.
  

  Upon receipt of your refund release form and verification of your mailing address, we will promptly issue your refund due per the Terms and Conditions agreed to upon prior to completing your purchase.
  

  Please let us know if we can help in any way to help you complete the 2 step refund process.
  

  Best regards,
  

  Robert F. L***
  President, CoSport
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩