Thousands of concertgoers have been left out of pocket after the company behind Juicy Fest and the Timeless Summer Tour collapsed into liquidation.

Chris Lynch Media first revealed the scale of the fallout, with frustrated ticket holders still searching for answers as the companies behind the events remain silent.

According to the Companies Office website, Juicy Festival Limited was officially placed into liquidation on Friday.

Boy George, Little River Band, Bonnie Tyler and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas were the headline acts for the Timeless Summer Tour, which was due to take place in Christchurch, Napier, New Plymouth, Tauranga and Auckland between January 11-19.

Benjamin Frances of Blacklock Rose has been appointed liquidator for the company behind both festivals.

Juicy Festival Limited’s sole director, Glenn Edgar Meikle, has ignored repeated requests by chrislynchmedia.com for comment.

However, Kristin Ralph, who is connected to the company, responded to chrislynchmedia.com in late February claiming reports were inaccurate and insisting they were not promoting future concerts — despite the company’s social media pages changing to 2026.

The first liquidator’s report was due on March 15.

Ticket holders for the Timeless Summer Tour were told the event was cancelled due to the loss of three key venues, which were shared with Juicy Fest.

“When that event was cancelled it was no longer viable to run these shows. Unfortunately, it was not a matter of simply running the tour without the three shows due to the company’s contractual obligations,” organisers said in an email.

Attempts to reschedule the tour failed, and the company was placed into liquidation.

“It is heartbreaking to be in this position now, and the last thing we want is for anyone to be negatively impacted by the liquidation,” the email said.

Juicy Fest organisers blamed their collapse on the cancellation of their Auckland event, after being denied a liquor licence, which they said made running the festival unsafe.

“When we were not approved for a special licence in Auckland, it quickly became a health and safety issue, and it was not as simple as running an event without alcohol,” they said.

They claimed the cancellation created “significant and unexpected costs”, forcing the company into liquidation.

The Commerce Commission confirmed to chrislynchmedia.com that it is now formally investigating Juicy Fest after receiving hundreds of complaints from frustrated customers.

A spokesperson said, “The Commerce Commission has received 296 enquiries about Juicy Fest since 1 December 2024, and 67 enquiries about Timeless.”

“The investigation is currently into the company that ran Juicy Fest, however, the investigation may need to extend to include the running of the Timeless Summer Concert.”

Despite growing anger from ticket holders, the event organisers have directed customers to wait for contact from liquidators, who will handle any potential refunds.

Ticket holders have been urged not to contact the ticketing platform Ticket Fairy, with the companies claiming it had been “unfairly harassed” and does not manage refunds.

“The liquidator will access funds and deal with refunds, so please wait to be contacted,” both companies said.

Juicy Fest said it was “absolutely gutted” by the outcome, while Timeless Summer Tour described the situation as “gut-wrenching.”

A former worker connected to the failed company told chrislynchmedia.com he was also left out of pocket and became frustrated when his email address was never removed from the company’s website, leaving him inundated with complaints from angry ticket holders.

Some customers have successfully secured refunds through their banks, while others told chrislynchmedia.com they were denied refunds after missing the deadline for chargebacks.

Late last month, a Consumer NZ spokesperson told chrislynchmedia.com, “Yes, we have received several complaints from ticket holders who are disgruntled about how long it’s taking to get their money back. We had similar complaints about Juicy Fest after it was cancelled in early 2023.”

“When an event is cancelled, ticket holders are entitled to a refund. We expect refunds to be processed within a reasonable timeframe. In our view, two or three weeks is reasonable. No one should have to wait months to get their money back.”

“For anyone who paid by credit or debit card, you can try contacting your bank and asking for a chargeback. However, there’s a limited timeframe to apply for a chargeback, so we recommend contacting your bank as soon as possible.”

“It’s also possible to lodge a claim at the Disputes Tribunal, but it costs $59 (for claims up to $2,000) and may take several months to get a hearing date.”