KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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A Douglas County Court ordered Snowglobe LLC to pay $7,500 in restitution to customers who paid for its holiday train in 2022 and did not receive any services, the Kansas Attorney General's (AG) Office announced Tuesday.
About 30 people filed a complaint with the AG's office against Snowglobe LLC after the company sold Snowglobe Express tickets and canceled the rides.
Kirsten Price purchased about $150 worth of tickets for her and her grandchildren to ride the Snowglobe Express — a 12-mile Christmas train ride — in Baldwin City, Kansas, on Dec. 23, 2022.
"It was supposed to be super cold on those days, like minus temperatures," she said.
Price said Snowglobe Express notified her the train wouldn't operate due to cold temperatures. She said the company offered to either reschedule her ride for the remainder of the 2022 season or provide a voucher for the 2023 season. She chose the voucher.
Price said that after multiple attempts to contact the company regarding her voucher, she received another message closer to the 2023 season.
"Unfortunately, Snowglobe Express will not be operating in 2023," she read the message. "As a result, we are unable to redeem remaining, unused vouchers this holiday season. Snowglobe Express is no longer in operation."
Price was among those who filed a complaint with the AG's office.
“This was a huge win for the attorney general’s office," said Kansas Assistant Attorney General Sarah Dietz. "We have been trying to get restitution for these consumers for quite some time, and now these consumers are finally going to be able to get some relief.”
The attorney general's office filed the suit under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
Price says for her, it's not about the money.
"I will never go to any Snowglobe, anything," she said. "Obviously, won't support them. I mean, they took my money without giving me anything or opportunity to do anything about it."
According to Snowglobe Christmas' website, the company had pop-up holiday events at locations across the Kansas City area in 2024.
New ownership took over the Ottawa Northern Railroad's shortline in Baldwin City. In 2024, it operated the Santa Rocket and offered a holiday train experience with a new crew and new equipment. The new ownership says it has no affiliation with Snowglobe LLC.
RELATED | Baldwin City Christmas train returns with new, out-of-state shortline ownership
KSHB 41 News reached out to Snowglobe through the company's social media accounts for a statement and has not heard back by the time of this publication.
“If you have some unusual activity in your bank account or you are not getting the services that you paid for, it is imperative that you contact our office and file a complaint so that we can keep track of these and to take appropriate action against suppliers that are scamming people or not following the Kansas Consumer Protection Act," Dietz said of the AG's office.
Dietz said if you paid for the Snowglobe Express and did not receive a service, you can still file a complaint through the AG's office. For those who have already filed, no further action is needed. The AG's office will send a check to the affected consumers who filed a complaint.
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