Saalpass Tickets

Dokumentation

Withdrawal

This page explains when you can withdraw from a contract concluded via Saalpass and when you cannot — and what applies if you are unable to attend an event you bought a ticket for.

This is a translation for convenience. The German version at saalpass.de/widerruf is the legally binding text; in the event of any discrepancy or dispute, the German wording prevails.

In short

There is no right of withdrawal for tickets to events held on a fixed date. This is not a decision made by Saalpass or by the organiser but a statutory exception under German law (Section 312g(2) no. 9 of the German Civil Code, Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, "§ 312g Abs. 2 Nr. 9 BGB"). A ticket you have bought therefore cannot simply be returned within 14 days.

What applies instead: the cancellation and refund rules of the individual organiser — and if the organiser cancels or reschedules the event, you get your money back. Both are explained below.

The full withdrawal instructions in the section "Withdrawal instructions for contracts that do carry a right of withdrawal" only apply to the exceptional case of a service booked via Saalpass that has no fixed date.

No right of withdrawal when buying a ticket

The legal basis

Section 312g(2) no. 9 BGB excludes contracts for services connected with leisure activities from the right of withdrawal where the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance. The same provision also covers the supply of food and beverages on a specific date — for the dinner events and carnival galas sold via Saalpass, both usually apply.

A ticket for a carnival gala on 7 February at 7:30 p.m. is therefore precisely the case the law has in mind: a leisure event, a fixed date, no right of withdrawal.

Why the law works this way

The organising club plans the evening in advance. It rents the hall, orders the catering, books the band and arranges staff — all on the basis of the tickets sold. From the moment you buy, your seat is reserved for you and is no longer available to any other guest.

If every guest could return their tickets at short notice and without giving a reason, the club would carry the entire risk: the costs have long been incurred, but the hall is half empty. This is why the legislator deliberately excluded scheduled leisure events from the right of withdrawal — unlike, for example, buying goods online, where an item can simply be sent back and resold.

In short: you are not buying an object, you are buying a seat on a particular evening. That seat cannot be put back on the shelf.

What this means in practice

  • You cannot return a ticket simply because you have changed your mind or are unable to attend on the day.
  • Whether a goodwill solution is nevertheless possible is decided by the organiser, not by Saalpass.
  • Often the simplest solution is to pass the ticket on to someone else. Whether and how this is possible is governed by the organiser's terms (see the terms and conditions).

What applies instead

If you cannot attend

The cancellation and refund conditions of the respective organiser apply. They differ from club to club. If the organiser has entered their own conditions, they are shown to you during checkout before payment. If they have not — this field is optional for organisers — you will not find any information there. In this case, please contact the organiser directly; the organiser is named on the event page and in your order confirmation.

A voluntary refund by the organiser is not a withdrawal but a goodwill gesture, granted at the organiser's discretion and under the organiser's own rules.

Often the simpler route is to pass the ticket on privately — this is permitted and the other person takes your place. One exception applies to personalised events: where a ticket is issued in a name, the organiser may make admission conditional on that name being correct. You can tell your ticket is personalised because the checkout asked for a name for each seat. Details are in the terms and conditions.

If the organiser cancels or reschedules

If the organiser cancels the event, or moves it to a different date that you do not wish to attend, you will be refunded the amount you paid. The refund is made to the same means of payment you used. You do not need to do anything beyond waiting for the refund or contacting the organiser — no withdrawal is required here, because the right to a refund exists in any case.

The service fee in the event of a refund

In addition to the ticket price, a service fee of EUR 1.90 per paid ticket may apply. Whether it is charged to you is shown in the order summary before you complete your purchase; some organisers cover it themselves. No service fee is charged for complimentary tickets (price EUR 0.00).

Where a refund is made:

  • Full refund — if an order is refunded in full, for instance because the event was cancelled, the service fee is refunded along with it. You receive back the entire amount you paid.
  • Partial refund — if only part of an order is refunded, for instance individual tickets out of a larger booking, the service fee remains payable.

The reason for the difference: the service fee pays for arranging and processing your booking. If the order is reversed in full, that service is effectively undone and the fee is returned. If part of the order remains in place, the intermediary service has been performed.

Who your contractual partner is

Buying via Saalpass creates two separate contracts:

  • Ticket contract with the organiser. Your contractual partner is the club running the event. The subject matter is admission to the event. This is the contract to which the statutory exception from the right of withdrawal applies.
  • Intermediary contract with Saalpass. Your contractual partner is us. The subject matter is arranging and processing your booking, for which the service fee may be charged.

Technically, payment is processed by our payment service provider Stripe directly into the organiser's account. Saalpass is not the organiser and does not become your contractual partner for the event itself.

This determines who a withdrawal would have to be addressed to if a right of withdrawal exists in an individual case:

  • If it concerns the ticket contract, address it to the organiser. You will find the organiser's address on the event page and in your order confirmation.
  • If it concerns Saalpass's intermediary service, address it to us at the address given below.

Which services we owe and which the organiser owes is set out in the terms and conditions.

Withdrawal instructions for contracts that do carry a right of withdrawal

This section does not apply to tickets for events held on a fixed date (see above). It applies to consumer contracts concluded with us by distance communication for which no statutory exception applies — for example services without a fixed event date.

A consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business or profession.

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day the contract was concluded.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us

of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (for example a letter sent by post or an email). You may use the model withdrawal form set out below, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

If your withdrawal concerns a ticket contract, the recipient of the statement is the respective organiser (see "Who your contractual partner is").

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

If you requested that the performance of services begin during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated to us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

Early expiry of the right of withdrawal: In the case of contracts for the supply of services, the right of withdrawal expires once we have fully performed the service, provided that we only began performance after you had given your express consent and had at the same time confirmed your awareness that you would lose your right of withdrawal upon full performance of the contract (Section 356(4) BGB).

Model withdrawal form

If you wish to withdraw from the contract, please complete this form and return it to us. Its use is voluntary.

To
Peter Schick (Saalpass)
Gutenbergstraße 25
90513 Zirndorf
Germany
Email: PeterSchick@gmx.net

[If the withdrawal concerns a ticket contract, enter the name and address of
 the organiser here instead.]

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract
of sale of the following goods (*) / for the provision of the following
service (*):

Ordered on (*) / received on (*):

Order number:

Name of consumer(s):

Address of consumer(s):

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):

Date:

(*) Delete as appropriate.

Still have questions?

If you are unsure whether your case falls under one of the rules described here, write to us using the contact form or at PeterSchick@gmx.net. If your question concerns a booking you have already made, please have your order number to hand. Questions about the event itself — cancellation, rescheduling, goodwill refunds — will be answered faster by the organiser than by us.

Last updated: 16 August 2026