If you’re still waiting for a refund for the once highly anticipated and subsequently cancelled Vancouver Formula E event, there has been a minor development.
In late July, the City of Vancouver issued a bulletin that it was going to be refunding the Montreal-based One Stop Strategy (OSS) Group, the primary organizer of the event, $500,000.
The conditions were that the money had to be used by the company to pay its financial obligations associated with the cancelled event, such as refunding ticket holders, suppliers, and/or event sponsors.
It now appears that the OSS Group has rejected the money, according to the City of Vancouver.
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The City offered a statement to Daily Hive about the development, saying that it’s disappointed in the OSS Group’s decision.
“OSS has rejected the City’s conditions for release of the performance security, specifically the requirement to jointly retain a lawyer to facilitate distribution of the $500,000.”
The City goes on to say that “discussions on the repayment have now stalled, which we are disappointed about, but the City remains eager to move forward if OSS reconsiders its position.”
.@Canadianefest haven’t refunded any ticket holders, the $500k refunded by @CityofVancouver to OSS will probably not make it back to ticket holders and likely isn’t nearly enough to refund all of the ticket holders. #efest #CanadaEfest #Vancouver
— Felix Kay (@TheFelixKay) August 8, 2022
In our most recent exchange with OSS Group Spokesperson Matthew Carter, we were told that “everyone that wants a refund will get one.”
Carter also said he was very confident that an event will take place in 2023 even though a statement from Formula E suggested that it had cut ties with the OSS Group.
When we put this to Carter, the response was, “I can’t comment, but I don’t agree with the way you interpret their release.”
While the OSS Group website no longer seems to be active, an archived version of it reveals this quote about the organizer’s ability to create memorable events:
“We design, create, and structure world-class Motorsports events. We are driven by details, and strive to deliver a seamless experience – our expectation is perfection.”
Based on comments people have been posting online on forums like Reddit, perfection for most ticket buyers at this point would come in the form of a refund.
With files from Kenneth Chan
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