Pictures from its events are splashed all over social media. Huge paper lanterns, glowing with a flame inside them as they float into the night sky.
In other posts — liked by thousands upon thousands of people — couples kiss as they hold their golden lanterns while gazing upwards. Some couples propose, others just hold hands and stare peacefully up at the starry scene.
But underneath each of The Lights Festival’s Instagram posts is another story — one told by thousands of disgruntled, furious customers.
The Lights Water Fest, which is what it’s being marketed as in Australia, will come to Sydney on February 1 next year before moving to Adelaide and finally to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Tickets are around $30 for an adult and $15 for kids and the price includes entrance to the event, a lantern, marker and parking fees, the company claims.
The Sydney event will be held at the Australian Botanic Garden, in the city’s west, a place that doesn’t usually charge for parking.
The company has already attracted criticism over its high “processign fees”, which can be up to 30 per cent of the ticket price.
In one furious comment, a woman named Christine Pace questioned the fee.
“Why is there so many fees? Really? 7 tickets results in over $40 worth of fees. What a joke! What a ‘family friendly’ community event you guys have going on! Jerks,” she wrote.
Another woman named Sandy Evans was also forced to pay $52 in processing fees — on top of her $162 ticket price.
The festival is famous around the world — especially in the US where it has been marketed under various names.
But it is famous for more than its beautiful lights. The festival is notorious for cancelling dates, taking weeks to offer refunds and, according to hundreds of customers, rescheduling events without notifying them.
On one Instagram post from late last month, the disorganisation of the company was laid bare when angry commenters peppered the picture with comments.
“Lovely that you’re doing this but when are you going to honour all your British customers with a festival who bought tickets for summer 2018?!” one woman wrote.
Another commenter went as far to claim they’d been “scammed” by the company.
“Bought tickets since last year, they cancelled it due to weather, rescheduled for this year. We drove for more than two hours and when we get there find out they cancelled it, they didn’t bother sending an email to their customers,” a woman named Jenny said.
“There were a lot of other people in the parking lot confused and no one from the event was there. They posted a number to call but it went straight to voicemail.”
The company, which goes by the name The Lights Tour on social media, did not respond to request for comment from news.com.au.
The company’s website, which had blank pages on Monday when news.com.au approached it for comment, has since been updated with an FAQ section and an events page.
But for at least the past three years, the company has been batting off criticism.
Due to the large flame inside the lanterns used at the festival, the company is often forced to cancel its events and have a large crew of firefighters at the venue.
Even a tiny gust of wind can lead to the event being abruptly cancelled.
But customers say dealing with the weather isn’t the issue — it’s the lack of communication from the company.
The company has responded to some criticism over the years, under a number of different names.
In April 2017, when a Kansas TV station asked why it had an “F” rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) — a marketplace rater in the US — the company behind the festival, Viive Events, responded.
“Unfortunately, high winds and rain can make the flight path of sky lanterns unpredictable, forcing us to reschedule for nights with better weather,” Brett Muir of Viive Events said, responding to social media fury over yet another cancellation.
“Anyone wanting a refund gets a refund.
“We apologise for any inconvenience the postponement — has caused but the safety of our participants is paramount.
“The BBB is hardly a comprehensive evaluator but we certainly disagree with the rating we currently have. The five complaints we’ve received we have answered and we expect the rating to improve.”
Just this week, the company was replying to furious customers on Instagram.
“Is Barstow (California) still going to happen? Can’t find anything about the event online,” one commenter named galaxybby wrote.
“No, it was joined together with Imperial, California,” Lights Fest responded.
After complaints from a handful of other customers, galaxybby offered some advice.
“They are terrible with communication when it comes to their events. This is the third time I’ve missed it because they don’t follow up with people who purchase tickets. Your tickets don’t expire though, so the next time they come around you have to email them to have them transferred to the event you want to go to,” she wrote.
One furious woman, who forked out more than $A500 for the event, said she was left in the lurch when the event was abruptly merged with another city.
“They DID NOT email me too after I CONFIRMED my 14 family members were going,” she wrote.
“Some drove 5 HOURS to get there and then to find people in the parking lot with the SAME disappointment and there was six people who got a ride from an UBER and was dropped off ONLY to have to WALK away because their Ride had ALREADY LEFT!!!!
“So Upset & How UNPROFESSIONAL. Your event could have at least had a Notice on all your Social Media pages at LEAST!!! The LEAST of an EFFORT. My tickets $USD350 dollars worth may still be good for another event but I will never buy them again.”
A photographer named Jason, who tried to attend an event in the US, also didn’t receive an update.
“Lol this has to be the sh**test company ever,” he wrote. “No communication or anything at least throw us an update on social too or something.”
The company has been accused of years of disorganisation bordering on scamming its customers.
One woman was so disgruntled — after fighting for a refund for more than a month — she even went as far as creating a Facebook page called “The Lights Fest Scam”.
“I requested a refund on their refund page, no contact,” she said.
“I then contacted them via email (they don’t have a phone number) and received a response stating they sent out an email … well they are liars, no email was sent, and yes, I checked my spam folder.
“Finally after numerous emails to them, they say they will refund but it will take 6-8 weeks to process. I wish I would have researched … evidently this is common practice for this so called company.”
The company also managed to obtain Australian mobile phone numbers, sending text messages marketing its Black Friday sales to people, including this news.com.au reporter, who had not given them her details.
Despite the allegations some furious customers have levelled at The Lights Fest, one blogger named Sea of Blush bluntly explained what the festival’s issue was.
“No The Lights Fest/The Lantern Fest is not a scam, but just very poorly organised,” she said.
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