The trio were among about 2000 patrons who exchanged cash for tokens - used to pay for food and beer - when entering the event at the Dunedin Railway Station on September 20.
Tim Rutherford, of Dunedin, told the Otago Daily Times he had since been left $35 out of pocket, after refunds promised for unused tokens failed to materialise.
He bought $100 worth of tokens on the day, to avoid queueing again, after being reassured unused tokens would be refunded.
Later, he discovered those working at the event did not have enough cash left at the end of the night to refund everyone, he said.
Two friends who attended with Mr Rutherford were in a similar situation, and had small sums outstanding, he said.
Those needing refunds were given organiser Matthew Black's contact details and told he would arrange refunds.
Mr Rutherford said he spoke to Mr Black by phone on Monday, and was told to come to a Hope St address by midday to collect his refund.
Mr Rutherford, the co-owner of Plasterboard Otago, said he could not attend at that time, because of work commitments.
Instead, Mr Rutherford said he was told by Mr Black to email a photo of his unused tokens, together with his bank account details, so a refund could be deposited into his account later in the week.
The money had not materialised and Mr Black had not responded to emails or phone calls in the weeks since, Mr Rutherford said.
Mr Rutherford said he was not concerned about his lost $35, but there was a principle at stake.
He also worried others might also have been caught out in similar circumstances.
''If it's happened to us three, then how many other people are also out of pocket?''Mr Black, responding to the ODT by email yesterday, insisted he was ''happy get this sorted'', but claimed he had no record of any contact with Mr Rutherford.
About 100 people had received refunds totalling $1000 after making ''the effort to come and collect on Monday'', Mr Black said.
He had extended the Monday refund deadline from midday to 6pm, to accommodate those at work, and exceptions had been made for others unable to make it on the day, he said.
However, those who had not contacted him by the end of Monday had ''missed the deadline'', he said.
Their money had been donated to a ''private'' charity, which he would not name, Mr Black said.
''Most people at the event spent their tokens, so it wasn't an issue and those that didn't made the effort to come in on Monday.
''A small amount of people missed the deadline and [it] was minimal.''
Mr Black said the matter could be ''resolved easily'' if Mr Rutherford provided copies of emails sent before the Monday deadline.
Mr Rutherford said he would, but felt Mr Black was ''leading us down the garden path''.
''I think he's just full of it.
''Why hasn't he answered three emails from us, and he answered one from the ODT?''
