[Albion] Introduction of charges for season ticket cards

[pure_white]

Fortunately I have never had the photo on my card checked as it wore off after about 3 weeks of being in my wallet !

Whenever I produce it at the turnstile the steward says "I wish everyone had those as the phones are a nightmare"

The club provide completely different narrative here about the success of the mobile tickets. As they have no intention of reversing this I doubt we'll ever really know the full extent of problems but just fro reading on this forum the balance is clearly far more mobile ticket issues than card issues.

 

[portlock seagull]

I wish people just get on board with. There’s really nothing to see here. It’s 2022, not 1922. Digital passes reduce costs, gives greater control, visibility…data is valuable etc.

If you’re unable to accommodate (again, in 2022) then regardless of your age or list of reasons why you can’t, then I can only wonder at how you exist in todays digital world. Besides, club have kept an analogue solution. It just costs £20 because hardly anyone needs anymore.

Time to get on the bus people. It’s only going one way.

 

[timbha]

The club provide completely different narrative here about the success of the mobile tickets. As they have no intention of reversing this I doubt we'll ever really know the full extent of problems but just fro reading on this forum the balance is clearly far more mobile ticket issues than card issues.

There are the die hard regular complainants about anything the Albion has changed since PB joined but the number of moans and groans about mobile ticket issues has slowed to a trickle (on here and elsewhere)

 

[BN9 BHA]

I wish people just get on board with. There’s really nothing to see here. It’s 2022, not 1922. Digital passes reduce costs, gives greater control, visibility…data is valuable etc.

If you’re unable to accommodate (again, in 2022) then regardless of your age or list of reasons why you can’t, then I can only wonder at how you exist in todays digital world. Besides, club have kept an analogue solution. It just costs £20 because hardly anyone needs anymore.

Time to get on the bus people. It’s only going one way.

Whenever I produce it at the turnstile the steward says "I wish everyone had those as the phones are a nightmare"

Hmmm

 

[pure_white]

I wish people just get on board with. There’s really nothing to see here. It’s 2022, not 1922. Digital passes reduce costs, gives greater control, visibility…data is valuable etc.

If you’re unable to accommodate (again, in 2022) then regardless of your age or list of reasons why you can’t, then I can only wonder at how you exist in todays digital world. Besides, club have kept an analogue solution. It just costs £20 because hardly anyone needs anymore.

Time to get on the bus people. It’s only going one way.

You may not know anyone that is non digital but clearly from this forum many do or are themselves non digital, does that mean they do not exist? I personally know several people that have never had a mobile phone and also some that have had a simple non-smart mobile phone and really struggled here. Shall we cast them off out of society because they can't keep up? If the club is to grow its fan base and be truly community focussed them it need to encompass all of the community and that DOES include 'customers' with no mobile phone etc.

 

[B-right-on]

This is the equivalent of shops stop accepting cheques or businesses charging a handling fee to do so. Life and technology moves on.

Up until this week BT were planning to phase out PSTN (phone lines) by 2025 (now pushed back) which will upset a few

Wrong. No its not.

Its like a shop accepting apple pay and a debit card and them charging £20 to use the debit card each year.

The club doesnt have to 'do' anything with the card once it is issued, getting thru the turnstiles with a phone or a card is exactly the same (actually my card is quicker). So despite having had a card already issued, why do i need to pay £20 a season to continue to use it?

 

[chaileyjem]

You may not know anyone that is non digital but clearly from this forum many do or are themselves non digital, does that mean they do not exist? I personally know several people that have never had a mobile phone and also some that have had a simple non-smart mobile phone and really struggled here. Shall we cast them off out of society because they can't keep up? If the club is to grow its fan base and be truly community focussed them it need to encompass all of the community and that DOES include 'customers' with no mobile phone etc.

Yes but do you know any fans who the club have helped or the club have supported if they struggled with tech. I do . And the idea that the club doesn't try and engage with them is just not true . They rang him (and others) last season and helped talked him through the process to make sure - that if he was well enough - he'd be able to go to the Albion which he loves doing. (They also rang him during lockdown to make sure he was ok. what other business did that with their "customers" ? )
The club - moved to ticketless /mobiles - quite an investment - yet still have physical season tickets, and probably a high percentage for whom its not a big deal to switch. up til now they are free to set up - to anyone who requested one, and they're free next season. They've proposed a £20 admin fee as a nudge for the season after next - i guess they're seeing what type of feedback they get. Wouldn't be surprised if they change their minds or extend it a further season (they've also frozen season ticket prices for over 65s, transport is still free, and they don't charge interest or any admin fees for direct debits - most clubs do but Albion don't) but I can see you think this means , at a stroke, that they're not community focused and "they've been cast off out of society because they can't keep up". Really ?

 

[BNthree]

I’m completely fine with using a ticket on my phone myself but do think charging £20 to EXISTING users of physical cards is a bit out of order. New users I can understand.

 

[BNthree]

Also isn’t this whole e-tickets policy something the Premier League wanted to bring in? As in it’s not just the club, or PB, that just decided to make the change one day.

 

[portlock seagull]

You may not know anyone that is non digital but clearly from this forum many do or are themselves non digital, does that mean they do not exist? I personally know several people that have never had a mobile phone and also some that have had a simple non-smart mobile phone and really struggled here. Shall we cast them off out of society because they can't keep up? If the club is to grow its fan base and be truly community focussed them it need to encompass all of the community and that DOES include 'customers' with no mobile phone etc.

I do, and I’m not exactly hi tech myself. But increasingly if you aren’t, then these issues are to be expected and hardly come as a surprise. Just as everyone once didn’t have an email address, if you don’t these days then you’re a bit fooked. So get one in other words, no use fighting the tide. Least the Albion provides an analogue solution, but I would expect to pay now for this if I needed. If people are happy to, fair enough. My point is you can’t really complain in 2022 that the club is pushing fans towards digitalisation just like the rest of the world. I recently took a friend who chooses not to have a mobile phone, never mind smart. He’s raging against the machine. Makes life awkward though, he’s lucky to have accommodating friends to help him out as required!

 

[portlock seagull]

Yes but do you know any fans who the club have helped or the club have supported if they struggled with tech. I do . And the idea that the club doesn't try and engage with them is just not true . They rang him (and others) last season and helped talked him through the process to make sure - that if he was well enough - he'd be able to go to the Albion which he loves doing. (They also rang him during lockdown to make sure he was ok. what other business did that with their "customers" ? )
The club - moved to ticketless /mobiles - quite an investment - yet still have physical season tickets, and probably a high percentage for whom its not a big deal to switch. up til now they are free to set up - to anyone who requested one, and they're free next season. They've proposed a £20 admin fee as a nudge for the season after next - i guess they're seeing what type of feedback they get. Wouldn't be surprised if they change their minds or extend it a further season (they've also frozen season ticket prices for over 65s, transport is still free, and they don't charge interest or any admin fees for direct debits - most clubs do but Albion don't) but I can see you think this means , at a stroke, that they're not community focused and "they've been cast off out of society because they can't keep up". Really ?

This, good points well made. Better than mine anyway!

 

[portlock seagull]

I’m completely fine with using a ticket on my phone myself but do think charging £20 to EXISTING users of physical cards is a bit out of order. New users I can understand.

They can more than afford because of the equivalent saving PER MONTH by not owning a mobile phone!

 

[BN9 BHA]

They can more than afford because of the equivalent saving PER MONTH by not owning a mobile phone!

Every cloud

 

[amexer]

Each game 6k plus, match day tickets are sold, all but a few must be sold to Albion Members. Is it compulsory to have a mobile phone to become a member or are match day tickets emailed out

 

[nwgull]

It's not a police issue anyway......

Technically it is an offence for an unauthorised person to 'sell a ticket for a designated football match or otherwise to dispose of such a ticket to another person'. The reality is, I'm sure, that the Police won't give a shit if you sell/lend your ST to a mate who's either a fellow Albion fan or neutral and isn't subject to a banning order as this has no potential to result in any crowd trouble.

I can't speak for the club, but my guess is that they have a similar philosophy and will continue to turn a blind eye in the same way that they have for the previous 10 years, providing that you're not selling your ticket on an open market, like eBay. The only time I know of when anything was done was when that young YouTuber got a 5 year ban for buying a load of tickets for Man City fans in the home end for their title winning game back in 2019.

 

[dazzer6666]

Technically it is an offence for an unauthorised person to 'sell a ticket for a designated football match or otherwise to dispose of such a ticket to another person'. The reality is, I'm sure, that the Police won't give a shit if you sell/lend your ST to a mate who's either a fellow Albion fan or neutral and isn't subject to a banning order as this has no potential to result in any crowd trouble.

I can't speak for the club, but my guess is that they have a similar philosophy and will continue to turn a blind eye in the same way that they have for the previous 10 years, providing that you're not selling your ticket on an open market, like eBay. The only time I know of when anything was done was when that young YouTuber got a 5 year ban for buying a load of tickets for Man City fans in the home end for their title winning game back in 2019.

Technically yes but practically not…….problem is (it seems) there are several supposed workarounds (some of which have been posted on here), conjecture over which ones work (and how they work) and at any point anyone trying it on might get caught at the turnstile with an invalid/deactivated ticket….which in turn could mean a loss of ST for someone if the club so decided.

They stopped turning a blind eye to the passing-on of plastic cards by replacing them with a (supposedly) more secure e-system and adding photos to the plastic cards and introducing a (paid) system of transfer……..be surprised if they don’t close further loopholes at some point. The youtuber was actually touting as I understand it - selling at way above face value.

You might be right, but it’s a risk to take.

 

[Giraffe]

Prediction - if we are back in the Championship in 23, this cobblers will be quietly forgotten

People loved the championship. I think you'd get more demand. The premier league has bored people so this kind of debate becomes more relevant to keep people happy.

 

[nwgull]

Technically yes but practically not…….problem is (it seems) there are several supposed workarounds (some of which have been posted on here), conjecture over which ones work (and how they work) and at any point anyone trying it on might get caught at the turnstile with an invalid/deactivated ticket….which in turn could mean a loss of ST for someone if the club so decided.

They stopped turning a blind eye to the passing-on of plastic cards by replacing them with a (supposedly) more secure e-system and adding photos to the plastic cards and introducing a (paid) system of transfer……..be surprised if they don’t close further loopholes at some point. The youtuber was actually touting as I understand it - selling at way above face value.

You might be right, but it’s a risk to take.

We we can only see what happens; it's just my guess based on previous non-enforcement of this by the club as long as STs were genuinely being shared on an occasional basis with mates or family. The practicalities of enforcing it would also be significant. The introduction of an official system enables the club to be showing that it's doing the right thing, and it particularly suits fans like me who like to share their ST with the same person for up to half the games.

I didn't realise that guy was making a profit on those Man City tickets. I did think that 5 years was quite harsh.

 

[dazzer6666]

Interestingly was at a fishing club meeting last night - we’re also going ‘fully’ digital for membership from now on. Enormous time-saving due to easier admin and overall cost to the club doesn’t materially increase (tech cost is offset by no need to buy stationery, post cards out etc). Members can still sign up manually and have a plastic card if they want, but have to pay extra. The club is probably around 50% retired people and with a higher proportion of technophobes than the Albion.

 

[dazzer6666]

We we can only see what happens; it's just my guess based on previous non-enforcement of this by the club as long as STs were genuinely being shared on an occasional basis with mates or family. The practicalities of enforcing it would also be significant. The introduction of an official system enables the club to be showing that it's doing the right thing, and it particularly suits fans like me who like to share their ST with the same person for up to half the games.

I didn't realise that guy was making a profit on those Man City tickets. I did think that 5 years was quite harsh.

Made £350 according to the Argus at the time……

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17726114.albion-fan-youtuber-banned-selling-tickets/