Consumer organizations have spent years denouncing the “abuses” of the promoters of music festivals. To name a few, the prohibition of accessing the event with food and drink or having to pay with a wallet or cashless bracelet or charging to enter and exit the venue, despite having religiously paid for the entrance to the show. But neither the autonomous communities nor the Ministry of Consumption had done anything about it… until now
For the first time, the department headed by Alberto Garzón has initiated a disciplinary proceeding against a company that organizes events and festivals in various parts of the country. The reason is that the company includes as a mandatory clause the express prohibition of entry to the festival site with food or drink from abroad, and attendees may be registered and, where appropriate, denied entry for this reason. And it’s not a joke. The fines can reach one million euros and up to eight times the illicit benefit obtained if it is greater than one million euros.
The complaint comes from the consumer organization Facua, which pointed to DQG Norte, AIE, organizer of the Reggaeton Beach Festival, which takes place in eleven cities (Madrid, where the City Council withdrew their license for security reasons; Marina D’Or , Asturias, Tenerife, Marbella, Benidorm, Mallorca, Barcelona, ??Santander, Torrevieja and Galicia) for preventing access to venues with food and drink from abroad, not allowing cash payments inside and “keeping part of the money from cashless wristbands in the refund,” explains a spokesperson.
The Balearic Islands opened a disciplinary file after Facua’s complaint, but given that the irregularities take place in different autonomous communities, both the consumer authorities of this autonomy, as well as that of Catalonia, asked the Ministry of Garzón to take charge of the case, according to reports a spokesperson for the association.
Thus, Consumption has assumed the sanctioning power that was endowed with a recent reform of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws.
The company subject to the sanctioning file includes as a mandatory clause the express prohibition of entry to the festival site with food or drink from abroad, and attendees may be registered and, where appropriate, denied entry for this reason. However, in each of the organized festivals it is specified that you can access with certain food and drink, a small bottle of water, a piece of fruit, a sandwich or a sealed snack, additionally requiring in a different section that sandwiches or homemade food will not be accepted. sealed with silver foil.
Consumo is also investigating other practices denounced by Facua at the Reggaeton Beach Festival. It is about the imposition of a payment system through cashless bracelets, not accepting cash. In addition, the return and refund of the excess amount is not allowed below 2 euros due to management costs that amount to 1.5 euros. All these practical practices would constitute an infringement as they are considered abusive clauses, Consumption warns in a statement.
The sanctions provided for these infractions can be considered as serious or very serious infractions, and be penalized with fines of between 10,001 and 100,000 euros, in the case of serious ones, and between 100,001 and 1,000,000 euros, in the case of very serious ones. serious.
In the event that the illicit benefit obtained from the infringing practices exceeds said amounts, the sanctions imposed could reach up to between four and six times the illicit benefit obtained, for serious infringements, and between six and eight times the illicit benefit obtained. , in the case of very serious ones, points out Consumption.
