cockpitvisit

Is there any proof for that?

The reason the Japanese organizers are offering refunds is that they expect Japanese government regulations to disallow foreign visitors from coming. So they are being nice to the people affected and are offering refunds. It's no different to a foreigner holding a ticket to the Super Bowl and being unable to attend due to the U. S. not admitting tourists from overseas.

They would be mad to renege on their contract by explicitly canceling all tickets, it would make them vulnerable to legal challenges.

That's quite likely - because the only thing they do is reselling tickets for the Olympics.

hailstorm

Nothing you would accept as "proof", though that's actually part of the problem. With so many fundamental issues that are normally decided over four years in advance, such as the number and layout of seating at each event, not even decided with less than four months to go, I am confident that carving out exceptions for the minute minority affected by the scenario you describe will not be a priority.

MSPeconomist

You're missing my point. There could be people who were USA residents when they applied for Olympic tickets, but (about two years later) they're *now* official Japanese residents and want to attend the events for which they have already purchased tickets. Why should their tickets be automatically cancelled without recourse? The particular events they wanted to attend might or might not now be available as tickets for Japanese residents.

hailstorm

How do you know those tickets will even still exist? There are probably Japanese in Japan with tickets that ultimately will be told that they cannot attend. And with all the major logisitical issues with holding these Games that have yet to be decided, do you really think it will be a priority to address the needs of the tiny minority of people that fit your description? Shikata ga nai!

If there end up being seats remaining to be alloted, then they will be eligible for such a program if or when it is implemented.

freecia

Did they publish how many tickets were allocated to JP vs foreign? Can the venues safely operate by JP standards with social distancing?

I just read skating twitter for Worlds 2021 in Stockholm which was a qualifier for Beijing 2022. It did seem to them that there were a lot of things which could have been done better regarding COVID prevention protocols (or not done at all because well, pandemic) and a few YT videos of certain skaters showed the stands mostly empty. It might have just been fellow skaters watching but I don't see why they chose to sit in clusters when given an entire upper stadium to space themselves out?
https:// youtu.be/DYowoG0I6Ng?t=238
See 3:58

For the record, three people tested positive https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1105929/isu-positive-test-covid-figure-skating and the bubble seemed a bit loose. No quarantine and events which fans brought up . After people tested positive they still decided to have the gala skate which is a performance round (non-qualifying). They did withdraw the couple which tested positive from competing & they stayed in their room(s), though I'm not sure if they were kept in quarantine afterwards.

Hoping Tokyo 2020 and the IOC are doing remote training to make the protocols very clear to all visiting nations and zero tolerance with significant actual consequences. Tokyo 2020 won't be requiring foreign athletes to quarantine as of Feb 2021 https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/qua...okyo-olympics/ It is a very diverse group of nations attending with different protocols, infection rates, and social adherence to rules.

I wonder how Tokyo's opening and closing ceremonies are being re-worked including the typical performances and if they'll make PCR tests readily available to Olympic staff, performers, JP athletes, and volunteers for a few weeks after the games.

Carolina2Cali

New to this sub, seeking advice on responding to Cosport's ticket cancellation, as well as my ANA flight I booked last August for this coming July... I suppose I'll read above before posting any specific questions but I am BUMMMMMED. This was to be my 6th games. Anyone in Japan wanna marry me temporarily so I can be a citizen for July? LOL

Carolina2Cali

So I've read the above, from mid-March on anyway, and yea, this CoSport mess is madness. I've dealt with them for years, and its always been a bit shady, but they're the only person in the US to get tickets from... at least for now/current. I've had a couple Vancouver events be too warm and had to have standing tickets cancelled, etc, and yep, they keep the 20. I lived with it, it was just an event or two. And the insane exchange rates (in their favor) are crazy too, but we agree to them when purchasing. THIS, this is different, probably over a grand in fees for me, and I make 55k a year living in Los Angeles, oy. I do understand with no fees they are BANKRUPT, and that yes, now they have to do EXTRA work for negative profits/money but... can't that be their problem and they just default and whatever happens...? Truly wondering if I should claim my refund by their random April 9 date, or hope that they can still allow me to go on the backend at the last minute, or... sue them but if they're as broke as I think they are... then could we end up with even less? Aye aye aye.

hailstorm

Don't do that.

evergrn

For me it was a 6-mo ordeal to get my money back.
Some of the stuff we went through: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32841832-post260.html
I went their "official route" to obtain my refund, which of course was -20%. Not happy about -20%, and maybe I should've gone the credit card route. Then again, there would've been no guarantee that would've worked out in my favor (even if it worked out for others). And if it didn't, then this case still might be unresolved for me. At least I got most of my money back and I was able to sort of put it behind me.

hailstorm

Just when you think they can't get any more tone deaf, the Japanese up their game.

Tokyo Olympic all-male relay leg lets women in after backlash

Because discriminating against women is okay when it is done in the name of tradition!

Even if they do allow women on the boat in this case, you're still pointing out a gender discrimination that continues to this day, in violation of the alleged Olympic spirit of gender equality.

nnn

I spoke with Chase about filing a dispute over the ticket transactions. Even though our tickets were purchased more than one year ago, I was told you get up to ~110 days (I can't remember the exact number) after an event to initiate a chargeback. That sounded great, since we are obviously still well before the Summer 2021 Olympics event dates! Sign me up for a chargeback.

But then she said, for postponed events, they look at the original date of the event at the time that the ticket was purchased, not the new date after the event was postponed. Obviously, it has now been well over ~110 days since the original Summer 2020 event dates. She said this was a Visa rule, not a Chase rule, and there was nothing we could do about it. As such, she said a chargeback is not an option for us. Does this make any sense?

hailstorm

So instead of canceling a show outright, a show producer can just keep arbitrarily pushing a show back until well after four months have passed, then cancel the show and keep all the money without any recourse for refunds?

Makes perfect sense to me!

freecia

I know this is a joke but marriage wouldn't get you Japanese Citizenship by 2021. Perhaps entry on a spousal visa of a current resident
https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/engli...-national.html

I believe spousal visas are currently valid for short term entry https://voyapon.com/coronavirus-japa...ers-concerned/ but even that wasn't really clear for a bit in Feb 2021? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...y-coronavirus/ Even those with JP residing business visas had some slightly questionable times of being able to re-enter in 2020 (see earlier in this thread).

Presumably if they allow athletes and their entourages in, spouses and residents would also be allowed to enter, but as pointed out JP has it's own way of doing things. Gambling on if Japan will eventually let you in is indeed a gamble and CoSport has already been notified to cancel the tickets. Getting an exception to a rule in Japan is not easy in the best of times.

freecia

See cruise lines offering onboard credit refunds in 2020 prior to CDC blocking them from sailing and requiring credit be booked by 2021. Then cancelling cruises in 2021 in less than a few months from sailing after the least penalty customer cancellation period and being returned onboard credit for which they still determine the validity, use-by period, and how many times credit can be rebooked.

I suspect several airlines have also tried this game (I have a few hundred in credit for domestic flights for Air NZ which I likely can't use in 2021) where there is less regulation and consumer protection.

Carolina2Cali

So if I bought my tickets with a Bank of America Visa Debit Card, do you think I am SOL with going the "Credit card" route?