SquirrelMeat said:

Just as you have a right to voice your opinion, I have a right to voice mine, you can't tell me where to go, I can post where ever I want to ...
moan...moan...moan....


Why don't you organize your own concert and see how many will attend, how many you can please and how many will....moan...moan...moan...

We had a fabulous start Saturday August 11th at the O2 Arena, we had no problem picking up our VIP Prince tickets for the Buffet & Drinks in the lounge, the food was ok, the atmosphere was boring and too bright. Then we went to our seats section F2 row C, seats 18 & 19, we paid the same 220.00 pounds per ticket just like the folks on the other side of the stage. Why were we looking at the back of the Drummer and keyboardist head the entire concert? We saw Prince walking around on the other side of the stage, had to strain our necks to see him. Sure he came to the back 3 times for very short moments. The reason I payed for VIP seating was because I expected great seats for my money not the back of the stage which was lifted pretty high up in the air.

There was no way to check your VIP seating on the Ticket master website when you ordered so I figured they would be great seats for that kind of cash out of my pocket... I feel so ripped off it's not even funny! I want my 765.00 euros back.
I have sent AEG & Ticket Master 5 emails in the past 2 weeks and heard nothing. What can we do yo get some justice?

mpauls said:

look for my most recent posts on housequake on the subject for a legal and workable solution.

unique said:

i contacted ticketbastard today 2 cancel my VIP tix 4 next week but they wouldnt give in!!!!
they r saying there gonna fulfil there obligations on what was advertised when i bought tix...
i paid 4.95 sterling extra 4 special delivery.....phoned them 2 say i didnt get tix yet and 2 ask where i was gonna be seated...they told me that i had 2 pick up my tix on the day of concert from 02 box office and that they would refund the postage 4 me....jezz....thats still 235 quid down the swanny 4 four drinks and finger food with the lottery of getting a good seat.....im fucking furious at the bastards,,,,,im going 2 stop supporting prince from here on in due 2 the fact that his ppl robbed me fucking blind....and prince knows his fans r being treated like cash cows and like shit.

i dont think prince understands how real familys have 2 save and work hard 4 there £££...were not all fucking millionaires with ££££ 2 throw away.
when i bought my VIP tix i though i would have a great time and get special treats from prince....

its like this....if only i had a time machine....i reckon prince has lost wolfy as a fam.....
i will always like the music....but the new music is not as good as it used 2 be and i reckon a lot of long term fams feel cheated and pissed off right now at the way we were screwed.

im going 2 18 shows at the 02 and 8 aftershows...including being screwed at that dr john gig on the 3rd aug!!!!!

im gonna sell the aftershow tix that i bought and will eat b4 i go 2 the 02 so they will not gain extra £££ outa me.....after 21st sept this year i will NEVER GO BACK 2 THE 02....AEG R GREEDY FAT BASTARDS...PRINCE IS NO BETTER 4 LETTING HIS FAMS GET FUCKED WHEN HE COULD HAVE STEPPED IN 2 SORT THINGS OUT FROM THE START OF THIS MESS....NOW WE SEE SHORTER GIGS AND AFTERSHOWS THAT HE THINKS HE CAN TURN UP IF HE IS IN THE MOOD.....!!!!!

WOLFY
[Edited 8/23/07 11:01am]
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[Edited 8/23/07 11:11am]
[Edited 8/23/07 11:12am]

irishwolfhound said:

TM refunded my vip tix, coz what they said where my seat tix was and what i received were different. TM didnt want to refund it at all, but coz i told them of my legal rights etc and after a few more phonecalls with them telling me no, i told them i was gonna take it further etc and they gave me a refund.
Dont give up TM will do anything so u'll just go away and accept ur tix. just keep on at them and tell them about ur statuory rights as a customer etc

irishwolfhound said:

what do U think....let the fams feel ur anger and pain....

WOLFY

irishwolfhound said:

what reasons did u give 4 wanting 2 cancel ure vip tix?

do u know what seats u r going 2 get?

y do u want 2 cancel ure tix?

when did u buy ure vip tix?

did u buy ure vip tix at the start when it said "the very best seating in the first 10 rows on the floow" (or similar), ie before they changed to include the tiers? (thing is though, the tiers are prolly a better view than anywhere on the floor

and have u read what i've posted on the subject on HQ and followed what i've said 2 the word?

essentially from what i understand, right now u have no right 2 a refund as so far they haven't broken any part of the sale of goods act as they haven't yet provided u with anything. at the moment u believe u won't get what was advertised at point of sale, but that isn't sufficient by law to obtain a refund, as u could still receive what was advertised

if u get tier seats and u purchased when it said "the very best seats in the first 10 rows on the floor" then u have the right to a refund. if u r given seats in the areas at the back of the stage u can argue that they arent "the very best seats" as the very best seats are at the front of the stage. if u r moaning about the buffet, drinks and transfers, then u just aren't going to get very far, as at point of sale it didn't mention what u were going 2 get

unique said:

i bought my VIP ticket on 11th may this year and i have the e mail to prove that from ticketbastard.
i wont know where im seated till i go 2 the 02 next weekend n pick up the tix there.
doesnt fucking matter now anyway as i have made my mind up that this is my last prince tour.
the purple wonder has got his last cent outa the wolfster....i was gonna buy his 3121 purfume and tourbook along with the symbol chain,,,,but i didnt after getting robbed with a fucking VIP package...

if i wanted 2 spend 235 quid on what there offering....lets see....4 drinks = say 12 quid...finger food = 5 quid.....for fuck sake..ppl dont even get entertainment as advertised...i could have gone 2 a restaurant in the 02 and got a steak dinner with a 5 course dinner and loads of drinks for 200 quid...this sucks..

yes i purchaed my tix the day they went on sale where it said first 10 rows...so i will wait n see what happens.....

please post the link here 2 the housequake thread...
WOLFY
[Edited 8/23/07 13:48pm]

irishwolfhound said:

Now, now Wolfy, be a nice Wolfy and don't stir up any trouble!

pplrain said:

wolfy is always nice....wolfy just ventin frustration...i took some of that out on mrs wolfy 2day n she had a good smile 4 hrs after...mmmmm

WOLFY

unique said:

Spoke to TM again today. Their latest excuse for the seating rip off is that they advertised VIP seats as being the very best available seats in the venue. They are now allocating VIP seats at the point of sale. When we searched for VIP tickets yesterday for the 21st September the TM website came up with much better seats than we have been allocated for that night, even though we bought them weeks ago. On speaking to them today to ask why that is they said that they only advertised that VIP tickets would be the best available at the time of booking. As seats are released in batches they say they only mean the best available at the time we booked that had been released for sale! They can then release better seats after they have allocated ones already sold. Is this legal? Can they get away with the best available meaning the best available of the ones they have released so far? Feels like a scam to me. I interpreted the best available as being the best seats still unsold at the time I booked!

pplrain said:

So let me get this straight.....

You think everyone can voice there opinion.....but you are asking people to stop moaning (ie, stop giving their opinion).

You come to a thread specifically created for people to post there rip off experiences, and instead of posting one of those experiences, you slag those people off?

You really need to take a good long look at yourself, and hopefully realise what an aggressive little shit stirrer you have become.

SquirrelMeat said:

i totally agree with ya about that person causin shite....but wolfy understands that the world is full of fruitcakes.....heh heh

WOLFY
[Edited 8/23/07 18:24pm]

according to this..

http://www.consumerdirect...s/tickets/

ticket sellers have a legal obligation to tell you the loocation of your seats.


in all vip cases prior to the change this weekend, this has not happened..

Unique,(are you a lawyer?) can you confirm that this applies to concert tickets.. it's my understanding that if this is the law then by not doing it, they are trying to hold squirrel meat and indeed anyone who is trying to get refunds cancellations prior to the concert) to an illegal contract.

Before you get too excited though...Please bear in mind, all i know about the law i learnt from american tv dramas and watchdog*.


also the ticketmaster "best available from the current batch" argument fails since tickets according to ticketmaster were not allocated at the time of purchase. from their website...



Question
VIP Seating Information for Prince @ O2

Answer
VIP seating for Prince at the O2 has not yet been allocated and will be done on a first come first served basis in order of when bookings were made. if you have booked VIP tickets for Prince your seats will be located in the very best seats within the first 10 rows of the floor seating and first 10 rows in the Mid Tiers.

PLEASE NOTE: Seats will not be allocated until closer towards the date of the event.


hope this helps someone.


I am still yet to get my v.i.p. refund for "the worst seats in the house.." glad to hear someone has.. any chance of getting some proof from those that already have so i can deliver a counter example to tickemaster ???





*in the seventies.
[Edited 8/23/07 18:42pm]
[Edited 8/23/07 20:08pm]

glyn said:

they do have to allocate your seats (even if it says "general admission - standing area" thats sufficient), but no timeframe is set for allocations, and you don't get your tix until just before the show, so as long as you know where you are sitting before the event they have satisfied that requirement - so no point chasing that avenue

the description you posted is the second/changed description, not the original one. i think wolfy is saying he bought tix when they first went on sale before tiers were advertised, so as long as he gets floor seats they have fulfilled that obgligation. i'm not sure what it said about a bar at the time, but i'm pretty sure it didn't specify what you would get, it was only peoples presumptions, pumped by people posting online thinking that they were going to get a free bar all nite and food served personally by the band who would be naked etc

the key issue to argue is if you get tier seats when it didn't mention tiers at point of booking, you can say that under the sale of goods act 1994 that the goods/services provided differ to those as described at point of sale. i've used that to get a few refunds. i'm not sure if the later shows descriptions changed as those nites may have went onsale after the description changed.

the second issue is again under the sale of goods act in that if you got seats at the back of the stage, the items differ from those described as "the VERY BEST AVAILABLE seats in the first 10 rows of the floor seating". the seats at the back are clearly not the best available, and they have a restricted view. there isn't sufficient disclaimer to show that you were getting "the very best available - out of the crap seats we have left at the back as other agencies are selling the really good seats"

the "not the best available really" arguement is more of a grey area, and TM might not accept that straight away. don't be fobbed off with contacting AEG, you didn't buy anything from them, and they didn't supply anything to you, so you have no dealings with them, and AEG have no legal obligation to even reply to your query, so explain that to TM and tell them as a consumer that TM are obligated to deal with your case and you simply aren't going to deal with AEG etc. if you don't get any luck, contact your local citizens advice buro for help, and contact trading standards. if they get in touch TM might be more persuaded to do something. if you get results, post the details here

i would suggest you google up TM's head office and find the trading standards office for that local area (i did it the other week and it's easyy to find) and ask them to deal with the case - ensure with ALL calls you note names and times. essentially if the same local TS office has to deal with a number of complaints they will put more pressure on TM to do something about it. i understand TM has to get confirmation from AEG about refunds, but they may get AEG to give blanket authorisation to refund if the same complaints pop up - just like they did about exchanging the uppers for lowers, AEG authorised that, not TM

i don't know anyone who has yet attended a vip show and got a refund, but i'm trying to persuade those that are unhappy to take the right steps as i've mentioned

Clare said:

So what's Princes opinion on this fiasco, after all, it is under his name that these are being sold.

I am presuming that if you are in the gold circle seats, then you get what is advertisied?



According to ticketmaster:

Prince VIP Reception and Gold Circle seating

Enjoy a pre-show party in The White Bar, with Buffet, complimentary drinks and music.

Transfer to the very best seats in the venue (seats will be confirmed at the time of booking).
[Edited 8/23/07 23:56pm]

18/08/07; my girlfriend bought two vip tickets to the show. she had to get vip tickets because ticketmaster and their cronies made sure that they would milk this show for all it was worth and the £31.21 tickets were left to the folk with binoculars. this was going to be the trip of a lifetime and so we traveled 560 mile round trip to be welcomed by, no seat in the vip lounge back stage. had to ask for vege food 5 times before getting a couple of vol au vonts and 4 small bottles of drink each. the first act was pretty much a pub act. prince came on a full hour later than billed and left the stage on numerous occasions. one and half hours in total and messed about for much of that. this little package cost the best part of £500.00. or if you bother to read this prince $1000.00. this might be a pittance to you but not to us. could have put up with the rip off at the bar but to see the look on my girlfriends face when you finished early so as to go to the after show party for a couple of hours was a serious p off. she has been a lifelong fan of prince and he could do no wrong but she refused my offer after the 'main' show of getting some tickets to the after show. she has told me of days gone by when eileen ran the fan base and front row tickets were £25.00 and if you were a true fan the after show was magical so long as you could find it. once in though one could expect to meet the band members or even the man himself. i was a prince concert virgin until the 18th and to be honest i knew nothing of the man until i met my girlfriend, however, i soon found his music to be good, his guitar playing even better but the facts that he was a vege and a biker clinched it for me. such a sad shame that so many came away from that concert so dissilusioned with a sense of being well and truly ripped off. ps thanks for nothing ticketmaster, you bunch of thieving tossers. i will never purchase anything from or through you again. may you rot in pieces.

ps to previous post. my apologies to everyone that is saying " i wish he had told us this a few days ago" not my fault folks i have been venting my spleen over this issue to my girlfriend,the ferrets, the dogs and anyone else that would listen for days now and have not been able to post on here until today. good luck to you all that are trying to get a refund from the ticketbastards and to those that have not yet bought tickets, DON'T. it's no wonder prince can afford to give away his latest album with a scam like this on the go.

motr said:

Thats the second version of the floor plan. The original one didn't have the gold circle seats in the lower tiers. That was added after the tickets went on sale.

irishwolfhound said:

SquirrelMeat you're not even a real Squirrel!

And as for you Wolfy... be a nice Wolfy now!

Just to let you guys know that I had a recorded interview with one of the researchers for Victoria Derbyshire's programme due to be aired on five live this Wednesday morning.

http://prince.org/msg/12/240687

I went into all the details of the scandalous treatment we've had, not only with the VIP but also the Pre-Sale, Sold-Out Shows pretence and Aftershow debarcle.

Tune in on Wednesday morning and hopefully plenty of us orgers and quakers will start to raise public awareness - you never know who might be listening in
[Edited 8/24/07 17:29pm]

midasG said:

What time r u on? My friend and I were VIP on the 10th Aug and I have put in a complaint v similar to yours to TM Customer Services, the MD of TM UK, my credit card company & Trading Standards. On the advice of Consumer Direct, I have given TM until next Friday to respond. I will be very interested to hear how you get on next week and what response it provokes.
[Edited 8/24/07 15:43pm]

Clare said:

Hi Clare,

I think the show airs at 9am - not sure how long the Prince bit will be or how much of my interview they will use. Apparently they interviewed a number of orgers and quakers and there will be a montage of comments and concerns about this bloody fiasco. There will be a live interview, but I had to pass up on that as I have a poxy meeting at work

Saturday august 18 we visited Prince. The show and the VIP treatment disappointed us very much. The total amount they charge for the tickets and VIP treatment, £ 235 is totally unacceptable.

Although the door sign mentioned a VIP entrance we were not supposed to enter there. The staff at the door could not exactly tell us at what entrance we had to go. We walked about 45 minutes from door to door and no one could help us or just send us the wrong way in the building.

In the advertisement we’ve read this:
Enjoy a pre-show party in The White Bar, with Buffet, complimentary drinks and entertainment

First of all, it wasn’t exactly like a party. Where was the entertainment? Where was the Buffet? The food delivered at our table was of poor quality and often cold, in stead of warm as it supposed to be. Just 3 alcoholic drinks included? Is the alcohol that expensive the UK.

Although we received tickets for seats located within the first 10 rows, the location of it was very poor and unacceptable for the amount we paid. Row D at sector F2. A place behind the band. The first act Mya, we didn’t see her. All the action was happening at the other side of the stage. Prince wasn’t much better. We counted the times we saw Prince at our side of the stage and came up with 5 (very short) times. Again all the action was at the other side of the stage. The people at the lower tiers with much cheaper tickets had a far better view.

Totally disappointed we returned after a show from only 1.5 hour back to our hotel.

As said before we are very disappointed about the entire evening. Coming all the way from Holland we expected a real VIP night. It became a disaster for us huge Prince fans.

Wilfred said:

You should write to the MD of Ticketmaster UK and to their local Trading Standards. I will orgnote you the details.

Wilfred said:

almost exactly the same as our trip wilfred. the whole lot was a disgrace. i have contacted tm and they deny all responsibility, stating that, they only sell the tickets and that the o2 stadium is responsible. WOLFY, lead us in this matter, i think your idea that we should go at this en force is the right approach. i am sick and tired of the people of this country being shafted at every opportunity. the english are the worst people for letting it ride until it becomes unbearable ( i am english by the way) we should take a leaf out of the french's book and stand up for our rights and sort out the shysters of this world. i thought we had traveled a long way for an hour and a half entertainment wilfred, but "holland", COME ON PRINCE, READ THIS AND DO THE RIGHT THING.

2 Yodaferret: We have also spoken someone from O2 customerservice. They blaim Prince, because of the stage layout. And so everyone is blaiming anotherone as long as theirselves are not responsable.

2 Clare: Thanks fot the adresses, you helped us a lot, For us it is war now!

yodaferret said:

i agree with ya.....