Irish Examiner view: Should moral objections justify a refund?

Win Butler, right, performing with his Arcade Fire bandmates. Picture: PA

Canadian band Arcade Fire began their European tour this week in Dublin at the 3Arena under a cloud.

Allegations of sexual misconduct have been levelled in recent days at frontman Win Butler, and events since those surfaced have followed a familiar sequence.

Butler responded to the allegations — via a PR expert specialising in crisis management — with a carefully crafted statement leaning heavily on his personal troubles and challenges, while also denying any wrongdoing on his part.

Disappointed fans registered their feelings in various ways, such as buying merchandise by support act Feist, who indicated that the proceeds from those sales would go to Women’s Aid Dublin, or by simply boycotting the event.

Some fans, however, sought refunds from the event promoters and ticketing agencies because of their discomfort with the allegations, but those weren’t forthcoming.

Should refunds be available in such circumstances? If a customer buys a ticket for an event in good faith but subsequent developments raise a moral issue for that customer, should they be given the option of a refund?

Policing such a policy would be a challenge for ticket vendors, to put it mildly, and likely to be open to exploitation by the unscrupulous.

A fundamental principle which covers such situations was first articulated a couple of millennia ago and still holds good today: Caveat emptor.