Kane In Your Corner: Fans wait months for comic convention refunds

As the San Diego Comic Con wrapped up earlier this week, attendees from a lesser-known Comic Con here on the East Coast are feeling forgotten. Two months after the Atlantic City Boardwalk Con took place, they still haven't seen their refunds for cancellations of celebrity appearances.
"For me, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Craig Causer. He is a lifelong fan of comic book author Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man. Causer and his family paid to meet the author at the Atlantic City convention, and they were looking forward to getting Lee's signature on some treasured Spider-Man comic books. Unfortunately, Lee had to cancel his appearance, which he announced in a Facebook video. While Causer didn't hold the company in charge of the event, Red Bank-based Promoguys Marketing Group, responsible for the cancellation, he did expect them to reimburse him for the money he spent to meet the author.
"It should not take two months to issue a refund," says Causer. "There's just no excuse for that." Causer and other fans in the same situation turned to Facebook to voice their complaints. Eventually, they heard from the promotions company, which announced in emails and on the event Facebook page that refunds were "rolling out." They asked customers to be patient. But weeks later, Causer still saw no sign of the refund in either his mailbox or bank account. "They aren't responding to emails, phone calls, anything," says Causer. "They've kind of just disappeared."
Kane In Your Corner tried to contact Promoguys Marketing to find out why Causer and others have yet to receive their money. No one returned calls or emails, and a visit to their offices in Red Bank showed the company is no longer located at the address posted on their website. Neighbors say they moved out as of last week.
To avoid this from happening to you when you buy tickets for events in advance, use your credit card. That way, if something goes wrong, you can dispute it. Unfortunately, Causer used his debit card. In that case, many banks will only give you 90 days to file a dispute, and that won't help when you bought something months in advance.