KUALA LUMPUR – Global fans of South Korean boyband SHINee claim that there have been extensive delays by a local event organiser in completing refunds for a meet-and-greet event, which was cancelled nearly five months ago.
Taking to social media to express their ire over the matter, the fans, who are often informally referred to as ‘Shawols’, trained their guns on MND Sport & Event Sdn Bhd for allegedly dragging their feet in providing reimbursements for the event.
According to information posted online, tickets for the fanmeeting with SHINee’s leader Onew were priced between RM258 to RM988, with the event initially scheduled to take place on July 27 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s Plenary Hall.
However, just 10 days before fans were set to meet their idol, MND Sport & Event announced the cancellation of the event, citing “unforeseen internal circumstances” and assuring that the decision was made after “thorough consideration”.
In the cancellation notice, uploaded on its social media platforms, the event organiser also said that refunds will be processed starting from August 1, with all ticket holders expected to receive a full refund by December 5.
However, in a clarification several hours later, the company said that all ticket holders will receive a full refund “within 45 working days to their original payment method” and have up to December 5 to claim their refund.
As of publication time, the cancellation notice remains the last post uploaded on MND Sport & Event’s Facebook and X pages. On the other hand, the latest post on its Instagram account, dated August 30, details further stipulations for refunds.
While the post, which requests those who are waiting for refunds to submit their applications via a link sent to their e-mails, was uploaded four months ago, angry fans continue to flood the comments section.
Among those who asserted that they have yet to receive their monies back, some said that they have filed complaints to the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry as well as the Tribunal for Consumer Claims. Many others also threatened to file police reports.
In response to MND Sport & Event’s cancellation notice on X, a profile for Onew’s fans in the Philippines warned on December 9 that they will escalate the matter to the relevant Malaysian authorities if they do not receive their refunds soon.
Other international fans also lamented how they had forked out high amounts of funds for the tickets, their flights to and from Malaysia as well as accommodation expenses.
In an X post on December 11, a separate account representing Malaysian SHINee fans said that “only a handful” of ticket purchasers have received their refunds after the matter was raised online.
A local fan, who spoke to Scoop on the condition of anonymity, said that the fanbase’s multiple attempts to contact MND Sport & Event to clarify the refund process were met with stony silence.
The fan also said that on December 9, the company informed that it would be rolling out refund payments “in batches” of 10 people every working day.
Additionally, in a surprising twist of events, the company had recently directly contacted the fan demanding that they take down their “defamatory in nature” post and issue an “unconditional public apology”.
It is understood that the post referred to by the company referenced an allegedly lavish wedding held by an MND Sport & Event personnel in October.
After the fan posted online their interaction with the organiser, the company again contacted them, saying: “You should do (an) unconditional apology…without revealing our private communications to defame us further.”
Similarly, user @moilettering was contacted by an individual, who is believed to be part of MND Sport & Event, demanding that they take down their post, which contained similar details as the one uploaded by the fan contacted by Scoop.
The exchanges only served to incite further outrage among local and international fans, who called on MND Sport & Event to focus on the refund process instead of “harassing” netizens.
Scoop contacted MND Sport & Event for its comments on the backlash, but did not receive a response. – December 12, 2024