[Albion] Can't use your Ajax ticket now? Let the club know and give someone else a chance...

[Herr Tubthumper]

It's just a crap worded email. Threatening sanctions and giving a weird cut off date at this point seems heavy handed. But as said above it's one of our most in demand away games ever and likely a bloody big game on the pitch too, it's right that they want as many there as possible. Just not sure that's the way to go about it.

I'm almost sure they'd see common sense, but if you take that email literally and get sick after 2pm on 23rd October causing you to misd the match, you're stuffed.

Anyway hopefully it won't go to that and there will be virtually 100% attendance. And maybe in years to come there will be some sort of incentive to return a ticket if you can't go that isn't a threat.

Prior to the all the Europa League ticket details being announced there was a significant concern that some supporters would speculatively buy tickets then not go if time off work, costs, transport availability did not work out; in short people taking the piss. The club had to address this, which they did. If you cannot make a game, and alert the club as they suggest, and can demonstrate you intended to go, I really do not think for one moment you will suffer. Are there any cases of this from Marseille?

 

[BHAryan]

It's not all that bad. Could have been worded better. I think the club want to show that they've done everything possible to allow everyone a chance. If it turned out that 200 people couldn't make it, fair enough.. there's a lot of logistics with getting there, accommodation etc. However if some of those knew they couldn't go now, it's not a bad way to get those tickets into hands of someone who will be able to attend.
The club will know that thousands may travel without a ticket so if they can get even a few if those in the ground it's a small help to local authorities etc.
I dont doubt that Barber and Co have had emails galore from fans who missed out on tickets complaining that they've seen people trying to sell on their ticket now they can't go. For example I've seen 3 people on socials try and plenty disgruntled by it.

 

[Deleted member 37369]

It's not all that bad. Could have been worded better. I think the club want to show that they've done everything possible to allow everyone a chance. If it turned out that 200 people couldn't make it, fair enough.. there's a lot of logistics with getting there, accommodation etc. However if some of those knew they couldn't go now, it's not a bad way to get those tickets into hands of someone who will be able to attend.
The club will know that thousands may travel without a ticket so if they can get even a few if those in the ground it's a small help to local authorities etc.
I dont doubt that Barber and Co have had emails galore from fans who missed out on tickets complaining that they've seen people trying to sell on their ticket now they can't go. For example I've seen 3 people on socials try and plenty disgruntled by it.

How do you manage to sell on a ticket have to collect in a foreign country and show ID?

I see loads of people on FB and Twitter (I refuse to call it anything else) offering tickets for events they ‘can no longer go to’ but when you have a closer look, they’re all scammers!

 

[Taybha]

Interesting email and I'm actually ok with it,I'd of preferred harvesters will be visited by our crack team of viral infection specialists to verify your story,but I'd imagine the only people this email will anger are harvesters (*****)and the genuine few that have the misfortune not to be able to use their ticket,who will feel rightly kicked in the mush twice over.

 

[dazzer6666]

I'm genu

I'm defending the club because...

- Ajax is one of the most in-demand fixtures in the club's history. Having empty seas when so many want to go would be a travesty.
- Anyone who bought a ticket for Ajax should have been aware of this before. It was clearly communicated. Nothing being announced now is new.
- No-one has to present a solicitor-witnessed legal document confirming their reason for non-attendance. If you can't go - just ping the club an email to let them know. Two minutes. Simple. Paul Barber isn't going to turn up at your front door with a lie detector to interrogate you.

Now, the email is somewhat clumsy, certainly - that could be worded considerably better.

And, yes, if I was returning a ticket I'd prefer to receive a refund if the club was able to subsequently sell it on again. I suspect the no-refund rule was put in place to try to deter people from initially buying a ticket speculatively, knowing they could hand it back for a refund if they decided not to go. Again - this was all stated BEFORE people bought.


(Marseille didn't sell out - if you wanted to go, you could have gone)

All of that. Clumsy perhaps, but pretty much identical to what we told before registration, what we were told when the registration window opened, and what was confirmed when got an email confirming we'd registered (so from an admin perspective, someone has probably just copied that as a reminder )

Anyway, ticket in the bag.

 

[Commander]

Why should i be punished for not attending? - What's a "valid" excuse for non attendance? - If I buy a ticket with good intentions to travel and these circumstances change, why am I likely to face "sanctions" ? - I've done nothing wrong.... When I bought the ticket i had every intention to attend.. things have now changed -.. I'm not even asking for a refund... I'm just being told that I have to attend and will face sanctions for non conformance? -

I break my leg on the way airport? - Do I get a pass?
I oversleep and miss my flight? -= do I get a pass?

who's playing judge and Jury?

its utter bullshit IMO...

It is all bullshit, and no other industry would do this. That said, the wording does always say 'could' result in sanctions. I really can't believe they would, if you messaged the club the day before and said you had Covid. I bought a ticket for Villa away and then couldn't go, I messaged them saying so a few days before on the live chat thing on the website and they were fine, said they had added a note to my account to confirm I wasn't able to attend.

 

[Silver flying chariot]

I'm genu

I'm defending the club because...

- Ajax is one of the most in-demand fixtures in the club's history. Having empty seas when so many want to go would be a travesty.
- Anyone who bought a ticket for Ajax should have been aware of this before. It was clearly communicated. Nothing being announced now is new.
- No-one has to present a solicitor-witnessed legal document confirming their reason for non-attendance. If you can't go - just ping the club an email to let them know. Two minutes. Simple. Paul Barber isn't going to turn up at your front door with a lie detector to interrogate you.

Now, the email is somewhat clumsy, certainly - that could be worded considerably better.

And, yes, if I was returning a ticket I'd prefer to receive a refund if the club was able to subsequently sell it on again. I suspect the no-refund rule was put in place to try to deter people from initially buying a ticket speculatively, knowing they could hand it back for a refund if they decided not to go. Again - this was all stated BEFORE people bought.


(Marseille didn't sell out - if you wanted to go, you could have gone)

using Marseille as an example and making an assumption 100 people were no shows out of 2800 tickets sold. - This would equate to 3.5% non attendance. 96.5% of people attended. of those that didn't, I'm not sure why you would buy a ticket with absolutey 0 intention to travel.. There were 5 points on offer so can potentially exclude that justifcation too....

The club making this much effort to resolve what maybe 100 empty seats seems over the top and draconian in my opinion.... I've been critical of the club in the past about the process of ticket allocation, and fair play to them, i think we've got a fair robust process in place that most people would agree is acceptable. - Certainly when I compare our process to other clubs that i have friends who are season tickets have in place) - I disagreed with the scheme initially regarding passing away tickets on and to be honest have changed my stance on this... however I still think that this is a still a massive issue. The severity of potential punishment feels aggressive, not fit for purpose and quite frankly ridiculous....

I genuinely don't understand how people are defending this - I've not seen one logical explanation yet that would make me want to re-consider my stance.....

 

[Hotchilidog]

Good that they will make unused tickets available to other fans. A bit crap that there is no refund given that the ticket will be resold though but hey ho, it is what it is.

As for the threat of sanctions.....seriously WTF? Bang out of order. If it is because some fans didn't collect in Marseilles there are well documented reasons why many fans did not make the game.

My glasses are well and truly blue-tinted but this seems unnecessarily aggressive from the club. They have actually soured what should be celebrated as positive step in trying to get as many fans to the game as possible.

 

[Titanic]

Interesting email and I'm actually ok with it,I'd of preferred harvesters will be visited by our crack team of viral infection specialists to verify your story,but I'd imagine the only people this email will anger are harvesters (*****)and the genuine few that have the misfortune not to be able to use their ticket,who will feel rightly kicked in the mush twice over.

'Harvesters' for 5 points - and you get nothing if you don't turn up with your passport to collect the ticket?

And 15 are available for each of Man City, Everton and Forest?

Do behave.

 

[Bob!]

Good that they will make unused tickets available to other fans. A bit crap that there is no refund given that the ticket will be resold though but hey ho, it is what it is.

As for the threat of sanctions.....seriously WTF? Bang out of order. If it is because some fans didn't collect in Marseilles there are well documented reasons why many fans did not make the game.

My glasses are well and truly blue-tinted but this seems unnecessarily aggressive from the club. They have actually soured what should be celebrated as positive step in trying to get as many fans to the game as possible.

If the club were to give refunds, then for future games everyone would know that they can buy a ticket and then get their money refunded if they aren't going to go.
You'd get loads more people buying tickets not sure they can go, with the knowledge that a refund will be available.

 

[dazzer6666]

If the club were to give refunds, then for future games everyone would know that they can buy a ticket and then get their money refunded if they aren't going to go.
You'd get loads more people buying tickets not sure they can go, with the knowledge that a refund will be available.

Great point…..

 

[Bozza]

I genuinely don't understand how people are defending this - I've not seen one logical explanation yet that would make me want to re-consider my stance.....

Because if something comes up that means I'm unable to travel to Amsterdam in a few weeks' time, I absolutely want another Albion fan to be able to experience watching us play in Europe.

For my seat to remain empty because something has come up, would be terrible given how many people are desperate to go.

It's really not complicated.

 

[Jim in the West]

If the club were to give refunds, then for future games everyone would know that they can buy a ticket and then get their money refunded if they aren't going to go.
You'd get loads more people buying tickets not sure they can go, with the knowledge that a refund will be available.

Exactly. It seems a bit mean, but the alternative (of providing a refund) means people could buy with no risk, and you'd no doubt end up with a whole load of no-shows. I'm sure the club have rehearsed all the arguments we've come up with, and have chosen the sensible course of action, which maximises the number of BHA fans who get to see us in Europe.

 

[Hotchilidog]

If the club were to give refunds, then for future games everyone would know that they can buy a ticket and then get their money refunded if they aren't going to go.
You'd get loads more people buying tickets not sure they can go, with the knowledge that a refund will be available.

Fair enough, I had not considered that.

 

[Bozza]

If the club were to give refunds, then for future games everyone would know that they can buy a ticket and then get their money refunded if they aren't going to go.
You'd get loads more people buying tickets not sure they can go, with the knowledge that a refund will be available.

Hello, hello - can anyone hear me?

I suspect the no-refund rule was put in place to try to deter people from initially buying a ticket speculatively, knowing they could hand it back for a refund if they decided not to go. Again - this was all stated BEFORE people bought.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Prior to the all the Europa League ticket details being announced there was a significant concern that some supporters would speculatively buy tickets then not go if time off work, costs, transport availability did not work out; in short people taking the piss. The club had to address this, which they did. If you cannot make a game, and alert the club as they suggest, and can demonstrate you intended to go, I really do not think for one moment you will suffer. Are there any cases of this from Marseille?

I should have added.....but take the piss and you deserve to be barred from future sales. Seems only fair to me?

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

It's just a crap worded email. Threatening sanctions and giving a weird cut off date at this point seems heavy handed. But as said above it's one of our most in demand away games ever and likely a bloody big game on the pitch too, it's right that they want as many there as possible. Just not sure that's the way to go about it.

I'm almost sure they'd see common sense, but if you take that email literally and get sick after 2pm on 23rd October causing you to misd the match, you're stuffed.

Anyway hopefully it won't go to that and there will be virtually 100% attendance. And maybe in years to come there will be some sort of incentive to return a ticket if you can't go that isn't a threat.

This.

Sometimes the club's PR is pretty poor - I completley understand what the club are trying to achive, but the email is so badly worded.

(Doesn't help that you don't get a refund either)

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Now, the email is somewhat clumsy, certainly - that could be worded considerably better.

On that we are all agreed!

 

[Wardy's twin]

If any "supporter" is planning on buying a ticket for Athens without being "serious about going" they absolutely deserve every conceivable sanction that they might be hit with.

Agree....

 

[Bozza]

Agree....

I agree but I don't think Athens is quite so black and white if you are in Tier 2, as I am.

When I last looked, the travel options to Athens were quite limited and generally quite expensive. I'm certainly not prepared to book flights and "gamble" that I get a match ticket.

So, on Monday morning I'll join the 9am scramble and hope to get lucky. If I do, I'll then immediately look to book travel. I'll be prepared, having researched options this weekend. I might even have a browser tab lined up ready to buy the best flights I can find.

However, there is still a chance that the travel options change rapidly - there'll be several hundred Tier 2 Albion fans very probably doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. It may be the case that I just can't find something that suits for a reasonable cost.

If that happens I'd look to return the ticket ASAP in order that someone else has the chance.

I'll have bought a ticket with the intention of trying to go, but not being certain that I can.