Refund Policy

Last updated: July 2026

How refunds work

Because Tikiberry uses escrow, refunds work differently from traditional e-commerce. Your payment is held securely until the transaction is complete — which means disputes and refunds can be addressed before funds are ever released to the seller.

Automatic refunds (no dispute needed)

Some outcomes are automatic and require no action from you:

  • Seller doesn't accept your deal within 24 hours: the deal cancels automatically. If you never paid, no refund is needed. If a payment was in progress, it's fully refunded.
  • Seller doesn't transfer the ticket within 15 minutes of your payment: the deal cancels automatically and you receive a full refund.
  • You cancelled before your payment cleared: no funds moved, no refund needed.
  • You requested cancellation and the seller approved it: full refund.

When you are eligible for a full refund (via dispute)

You must raise the dispute within your 30 minute confirmation window (from the moment the seller marks the ticket as transferred):

  • The ticket never arrived at the transfer destination you provided.
  • The ticket received is invalid, counterfeit, or not as described.
  • The seller transfers a ticket for a different event, date, or seat without agreement.
  • The event is cancelled and the seller does not initiate a refund.

When refunds are not available

  • You confirmed receipt of the ticket and later changed your mind.
  • You did not raise a dispute or confirm within the 30 minute confirmation window (payment auto-releases to the seller).
  • The event is postponed (not cancelled) and the ticket remains valid.
  • You made a purchase error and the ticket is as described.
  • You provided the wrong transfer destination and the seller sent to it correctly.

How to raise a dispute

Do not confirm receipt if there is an issue with your ticket. Instead:

  1. In the Deal Room, click "I haven't received the ticket — raise dispute".
  2. Briefly describe the issue.
  3. Watch your email — we may ask for screenshots (of your ticketing platform inbox showing the ticket did not arrive, for example).
  4. Our team will investigate within 24 hours and issue a full refund if you are found to be in the right.

Late reports (after auto-release)

If you didn't dispute within the 30 minute window but the ticket genuinely never arrived or was invalid, you may still report the issue to disputes@tikiberry.co.za within 24 hours of auto-release. We investigate every report, but recovery after payment has been released to the seller is not guaranteed.

Refund processing time

Approved refunds are processed within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank and card provider. Tikiberry platform fees (both buyer protection fee and seller fee) are non-refundable on completed transactions. On cancelled deals — where the seller doesn't accept, the buyer doesn't pay in time, or either party cancels before completion — no fees are charged.

Contact

For refund enquiries: disputes@tikiberry.co.za