M&B Promotions: 'We're deeply sorry for letting Wicksteed ticket holders down'

M&B Promotions say they are sorry for letting Wicksteed gig ticket holders down after going bust - but that suggestions of anything untoward are "hurtful and upsetting".

The event promoters had been due to put on a series of gigs at Kettering' s Wicksteed Park but yesterday (Tuesday) they and ticket vendors Simple Ticketing Ltd entered liquidation.

All events they had planned - including a Craig David gig and a huge Comedy in the Park event - have been cancelled, leaving those with tickets gutted.

People have been told to either go through Paypal for a refund or their card provider for a chargeback, but hundreds of people said they were refused a refund after doing so because it was 'out of time'.

There's been anger online with many accusations levelled at M&B Promotions for not offering refunds before they ceased trading.

Yesterday the Northants Telegraph asked M&B Promotions a series of questions about where ticket holders' money was, when the decision was made to cancel the gigs and whether refunds were deliberately withheld from ticket holders knowing the events would not go ahead. We also asked what overheads had been paid out ahead of the shows, and whether they would ensure that ticket holders who said they had been 'timed out' from getting a refund would still be able to get one.

This afternoon the firm replied and said the suggestion that anything untoward has gone on was "very hurtful and upsetting".

A spokesman said they had delivered hundreds of shows across the country since 2019, with their last run about eight weeks ago which included a show at Wicksteed Park. They said they paid out vast amounts of money to artists, suppliers and venues, who were all contracted and confirmed, and were unable to obtain refunds. Yesterday Wicksteed Park said they had received no money from the firm.

The spokesman said problems started when they rescheduled larger outdoor shows due to uncertainty with Covid in early 2021 and came across issues when confirmed acts were not able to commit to new dates. They said that, because of this, they left Comedy in the Park events 'off-sale' while they worked on replacing line-ups.

The spokesman appeared to partly link their downfall on 'bad press' from their handling of the Comedy in the Park event. But the firm did not tell ticket holders that the line-up had changed and did not reply to many people who asked for a refund when they eventually found out through the Northants Telegraph.

The M&B spokesman said the 'bad press' had a negative impact on sales for their music shows, which were scheduled to run side-by-side with the comedy event, and that it wasn't viable to run one without the other. However, when Craig David tickets went on sale in 2021 organisers said tickets were 'flying out of the door' and that they released extra tickets because of 'phenomenal' demand.

The spokesman added that Paypal processed all of Easy Ticketing's tickets and still to this day has funds on hold.

A new M&B statement said: "We were amongst many high-profile event organisers forced to reschedule many events due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With vast amounts of finance already tied up with artist deposits, suppliers, venues and marketing this has put a huge financial strain on the company.

"Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, this combined with the extreme logistical and financial setbacks caused by the pandemic mean it’s no longer viable for us to continue trading.

"We have contacted all customers, artists, venues and suppliers to notify them of this terrible situation we have found ourselves in.

"We would like to thank the artists that have worked with us, the venues that have hosted our events and the thousands of people who have supported us by attending our past events.

"To those who have been let down by this situation, we are deeply sorry. Ticket holders for any cancelled event who purchased tickets via easyticketing.co.uk should contact either Paypal for a refund or your bank/credit card provider to administer a chargeback. If tickets were purchased anywhere else, please contact your point of purchase."