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Attendees at a music festival in Illinois reported thousands of dollars in unexpected charges on their credit cards after a payment disruption increased their tips by 10 or 100 times the intended amount.
Courtney Richter, a 20-year-old attending the Sacred Rose Music Festival in Bridgeview, Illinois, told WLS her $2,079 fee shocked her and she thought the problem was a credit card skimmer.
“I was shocked,” Richter told the broadcaster. “I had no idea how this could have happened. My first thought was that somehow there were (sic) card skimmers at the venue.”
Visa credit cards are arranged on a desk. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I’ve been to many, many festivals. This is the only time something like this has happened,” she added, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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Other participants reported similar excessive charges.
David Littman, 33, said his nearly $1,300 credit card charge at the event almost made him laugh as “so many things” went wrong at the festival. Some people online have referred to the event as Mess-Tival.
The Chicago Tribune reported that some people Littman knew at the event were facing nearly $4,000 in charges.
“I don’t know what they could do to make me go back there next year,” he told the outlet.
The incident happened on the first day of the three-day Sacred Rose Festival, which ran from August 26-38. SeatGeek Stadium, which ran concessions for the event, said a “configuration error” was to blame.
“You may have been accidentally charged a large amount by F&B at the stadium when using a credit card,” SeatGeek Stadium said in a statement. “Our payment processing is secure, but there was a configuration error. There was no disclosure and/or fraud; we are PCI compliant.”
Ray Hanania, a spokesman for the village of Bridgeview, which owns SeatGeek Stadium, told WLS that “the error affected the tip processing point of sale.”
“When the tip came in, it added a zero or two for some reason,” the rep added. “This is not a reflection of Sacred Rose.”
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A stack of colorful credit cards on a black background. (iStock / iStock)
So a tip of $5 would have registered as $50 or $500. A $20 tip could have reached $200 or $2,000.
By the end of the day, “several hundred” erroneous charges had been processed, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Deadmau5′ performed at the ‘Day Of The Deadmau5’ drive-in tour at SeatGeek Stadium on October 30, 2020 in Bridgeview, Illinois. Deadmau’s performance was unrelated to the Overload Incident. (Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images/Getty Images)
However, these additional costs will be reimbursed, the company said.
“We’re reversing all of these charges and you should see the amount credited to your card in 3-5 business days,” SeatGeek Stadium added. “We are very sorry [for] the mix-up and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”
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The final day of the event was canceled due to weather and safety concerns.
“Safety is our top priority. There are safety protocols in place and we meet the criteria for the show to be suspended. Working with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of the first Sacred Rose Sunday,” Sacred Rose organizers said.