Money back after Colour Obstacle Rush cancellation?

Despite all the colourfulness and unconcernedness, the company, VE Volkslauf Events GmbH based in Frankfurt am Main (‘VEVE’ for short), has cancelled the next two events. This affects the race on 31 August 2024 in Vienna at the Freudenau racecourse and the race on 7 September 2024 in Berlin at the Mariendorf trotting track.

The reason for this was that the payment service provider used had set an unforeseen 120-day delay for the payment of ticket sales. Without this money, VEVE would no longer be able to organise the planned events.  It is questionable whether the later dates will take place and whether the attempt to reschedule the Vienna and Berlin events will succeed. In any case, it is not a good sign when VEVE's website mentions that ‘experts are already investigating the possible liquidation’ of the company.

As there is a possibility of insolvency, we recommend the following based on the current state of knowledge:

• Those affected should try to have the amount paid refunded via their payment service provider. For credit cards, this procedure is called ‘chargeback’. Contact your card issuer! You have not received the service and want your money back.

  Please note: After a credit card payment, you have a period of 120 days to initiate a chargeback. You can obtain the form for this on request from your bank or directly from the credit card company. Be aware that since the event in Vienna was cancelled Ende of August, the expiry date coincides approximately with the end of 2024. The exact expiry date for your chargeback option depends on your exact payment date.

• If you have recently paid with Klarna, try to claim Klarna Buyer Protection within 21 days (called ‘Claim for significant deviation’).
• The same applies to Giropay buyer protection. It must be utilised within 100 days of payment.
• If these options have no effect and VEVE actually files for insolvency, you can participate in the insolvency proceedings. The insolvency court will then determine how much quota a future administrator will have to return to you as a ticket holder from the remaining funds. In this case, we would provide more detailed information on the bankruptcy proceedings here.
• If VEVE does not go bankrupt and you no longer wish to participate despite the event being postponed to an alternative date, VEVE must refund you the entry fee. If this does not happen, you can start an European Small Claims Procedure.