We use cookies to give users the best content and online experience. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to allow us to use all cookies. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more.

Manage Cookies
Resources for Businesses My BBB
Share
Business Profile

Advertising Specialties

Informa PLC

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Advertising Specialties.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 3 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 2 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

Sort by

Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:08/23/2024

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Back in 12/22/23 I bought a ticket to go to fan expo Portland for January 12 -13 when. I went my get my ticket an emergency was put out for a blizzard warning by the mayor and he said to go home. I live two hours away so I was stuck in my car during the blizzard. Instead of shutting down the show for safety precautions fanexpo Portland continued and I was not able to go to the event so I tried to get a hold of the company for a refund since I was stuck in a blizzard and didn’t get to do the event. After being stuck in vancouver/ Portland for a week I finally heard from the company and they told me they would not give me anything because I was able to get my ticket before the blizzard. After that I turned them in to my credit card company because I was not able to get the product they promised on the website or they safety or fun. They then emailed me back after a few weeks and told me they would do nothing for me again. Another day went by and they emailed me and told me the credit card company sided with them but they would give me 90 for the $155 I spent on the ticket for a cheaper ticket. I told them that was unacceptable and I wanted my full refund and nothing to do with them. Since then I have been battling it out with my credit card company ******* **** and them saying because I went the first day and spent 10 minutes getting my ticket before the blizzard that I get nothing. At all. I’m am tired of fighting them so I need help so nobody gets hurt or stranded or mistreated like I did by this company. Please whoever is reading this contact me. Thank you so much for reading this hopefully we can together stop this company from abusing clients

    Business Response

    Date: 09/03/2024

    ********
    On December 22, 2023, you
    purchased an Ultimate Fan Package and an ‘I want it all’ merchandise bundle for
    FAN EXPO Portland, running January 12-14, 2024. A total combined value of
    $154.35. The Ultimate Fan Package is $109 + $10.35 in service charges, for a
    total cost of $119.35. The I want it all merchandise bundle was $35.
    On January 12, 2024, around 1:30
    PM you picked up your Ultimate Fan Package badge and around 2:15 PM, you
    redeemed your merchandise bundle. You tapped in and out of the show 5 times
    throughout Friday afternoon.
    You let us know on January 13,
    2024, that you would not be able to attend Saturday and Sunday due to the
    weather. We were in touch again on January 18, 2024, when we let you know that
    we would be able to transfer your full Ultimate Fan Package, despite having
    attended the show on Friday, to FAN EXPO Portland 2025. We sent a link to you
    to complete this transfer. You expressed your disappointment with this offer.
    We also offered to transfer your tickets to FAN EXPO San Francisco 2024.
    Ultimately, on January 21, 2024, you decided to transfer your tickets to FAN
    EXPO Portland 2025. We explained that all vouchers would be issued by March 15,
    2024.
    On or around February 2, 2024,
    you disputed your Ultimate Fan Package and merchandise bundle purchase with
    your credit card.
    On February 14, 2024, you reached
    out to us to find out the status of your voucher for your FAN EXPO Portland
    2025 Ultimate Fan Package. We sent you the link to complete our form again and
    you completed it on February 15, 2024.
    On March 2, 2024, when we began
    issuing the vouchers for 2025, we noticed that you had disputed your purchase
    with your bank. We let you know that we won’t be able to proceed with issuing
    the transferred ticket due to the pending dispute.
    On March 6, 2024, we were
    informed that the dispute was reversed because of documentation we provided,
    and we issued a voucher for your 2025 Ultimate Fan Package the next day, on
    March 7, 2024.
    We hadn’t heard from you until
    this past Friday when you indicated you would be ‘turning us into the
    government’ and promptly submitted this claim with Better Business Bureau.
    You currently hold an Ultimate
    Fan Package to FAN EXPO Portland 2025 which was sent to you on March 7, 2024: ****************************************************************************************************
    The price of the Ultimate Fan
    Package in 2025 remains unchanged from 2024 (total including service charges
    $119.35) and as such, you are receiving full value for your purchase made.
    We have communicated openly and
    responded promptly. We have fulfilled your request. We have attached all
    relevant documentation for your convenience.

    Business Response

    Date: 09/06/2024

    ********

    We are confirming that not only was there a bathroom accessible outside of the show tap in area, but your taps also confirm you were at the show for the entire afternoon until approximately 7 PM. Attending the show on Friday did not impact our offer of full admission to the 2025 event. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 09/09/2024

    The business lied and put people’s life in danger. They did have staff at the bathroom to scan and security not letting anybody in from outside. I was trapped in Portland and had no where to go it’s why I was at the building I was stuck. The mayor issued warnings to shut everything down. I am heading to the city next after this and have already been in talks. I believe to resolve this issue and apologize to me should be obvious and a refund. The business has not showed any good faith or care and should be further investigated. 

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:11/25/2022

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    My friend and I were planning to attend the FanExpo event in San Francisco the on the 25-27 of November 2022 and we ran into a family emergency in which my friend's mother became sick with COVID and had to be hospitalized. This put us in the unfortunate position of having to cancel attending the event.

    We have been able to get refunds from the airline, the Hotel, and the Photo sales for the event but not the ticket sales. We both paid for the premium package which includes physical items that we are supposed to receive, but that's impossible since we cannot attend.

    We want a full refund of our ticket sales to the event at $139.35 each.

    I hope I have the right business, FanExpo ( a Comic convention) shows as being owned by Informa PLC.
    I could not find FanExpo when I searched

    Business Response

    Date: 12/13/2022

    Hello,

    The Customer Service group for this event has denied the refund as the cut off for refund requests was Nov 11.   They did not receive a request before that date.   Below is their explanation and attached is the back up for the cut off date.

    Please find the purchase page for FXSF attached as well
    as the Attendee Entry Policy, which is the link on the purchase page. Point 6
    on the Attendee Entry Policy is the refund deadline. The deadline is also
    listed on the purchase page.

    I have also attached ******* ******** e-ticket where the
    refund policy is also located.

    The website has been cleared at this point, so we don’t
    have the refund policy listed anywhere on the current site. The FAQs are still
    live though, and the refund info can be found here: ******************************************************************************************

    I have also attached my response to ******* regarding the
    refund policy and the option to give or sell the tickets to a friend or family
    member.

    Our refund policy is listed clearly in multiple areas and
    is agreed to by the fan upon purchase when they click the red ‘click here to
    agree’ button.

Informa PLC is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

Why choose a BBB Accredited Business?

BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.

BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period, except for customer reviews. Customer reviews posted prior to July 5, 2024, will no longer be published when they reach three years from their submission date. Customer reviews posted on/after July 5, 2024, will be published indefinitely unless otherwise voluntarily retracted by the user who submitted the content, or BBB no longer believes the review is authentic. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this company, please let them know that you checked their record with BBB.

As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation. BBB charges a fee for BBB Accreditation. This fee supports BBB's efforts to fulfill its mission of advancing marketplace trust.