Today I tried to book two tickets for the NUFC / Everton game tomorrow. The friend I’m going with is registered disabled and has been told in the past just to turn up with his disabled badge at any time to get the discounted rate for the ticket. No bother.
Only it’s horse-****.
Online, there is no “tick-box” for disabled purchases. Adult, juvenile and OAP are the only ones available. So instead, I rang them up and was put through a load of rigmarole.
“Is he registered disabled?”
“Yes”
“Is he registered with us?”
“I assume so as he’s had disabled tickets in the past”
“OK, there are seats up on Level 7 – they’re UK30 each”
“So how much is his seat?”
“UK30. There are no concessionary tickets for disabled people left”
“Excuse me? He doesn’t need a wheelchair – just a regular seat”
“Yes. There are only so many tickets reduced for disabled supporters and they’re all gone”
“All gone? Isn’t that a little unfair?”
“No, it’s not unfair. The tickets have been on sale for a few weeks now [note – this is crap. General ticket sale was maybe a week or so ago]”
So we didn’t bother. You can be a juvenile or an OAP and can get a reduction any time, even buying on the door. My friend was told in the recent past that all he had to do was turn up with his badge to prove his entitlement and he’d get reduced rate. No mention was ever made of there being a limited number of tickets.
Note: tickets. Not seats. I’m fully appreciative of the fact that a wheel-chair bound person needs special requirements and that space for these will be limited. That’s fine. This is a limit on the number of people they’re prepared to give a discount to for their disability. That, to me, is discriminatory. After all, as I said, they’ll let any number of OAPs and kids in at reduced rate so why single out the disabled for a limitation?
As to booking far in advance, again this is discriminatory. On the reduced budget my friend and I are on, why should be be put into a position where we have to decide weeks in advance that we want to attend a game when anyone else can decide on the day? Would we have received the same short shrift had we turned up to buy a ticket at the stadium an hour before kickoff?
I’ve emailed them, but they’ve not replied to any of the other three or four complaints I’ve mailed them about over the years.
