One Week Overdue, Rio-2016 Still Hasn't Paid Back Refunds to Fans

10/27/2016 - 12h15

One week after the deadline stipulated by the Rio-2016 Organizing Committee to pay back reimbursements for tickets to the Olympic Games purchased by consumers, thousands of fans still haven't gotten back the amount that they have the right to.

"I got the e-mail and sent back the information that they had requested, but until now no deposit", declared lawyer Marcus Castro, who says he has R$ 18,000 (US$ 5,700) to receive from Rio-2016.

The same thing happened with 33-year-old São Paulo resident Erika Dobelin, who has already confirmed her data but until now hasn't been paid back. "You call there and they are unable to tell you when they're going to pay".

The Committee's communication director, Mario Andrada, can't give an exact date, but is planning that by Friday (the 28th) everyone who has already responded to the e-mail confirming their bank data will have received their deposit.

"We have already paid back more than half of the people [out of a total of 140,000]", he declared.

This is the case of 33-year-old bank employee Camila Lima, who received back exactly the R$ 1,830 (US$ 565) refund that she requested. "It took two months, but I received everything just right on Friday (the 21st)", she confirmed.

Other consumers are complaining that the amounts reimbursed don't square with what they spent on their purchase.

"My reimbursement came through on Tuesday (the 25th), partially. Of the R$ 2,850 (US$ 875) that I have the right to receive, R$ 150 (US$ 45) is missing," says 37-year-old metro employee Edivan Santos Júnior.

He speculates that the amount for tickets to the Paralympics weren't included in the deposit.

The organization, however, says that cases like his should be considered a mistake since there is no distinction between the Paralympics and the Olympics.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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