Promises, people out of pocket and a police interview - one year on from firms' ticket farce for gigs at venues including Wicksteed Park

It was supposed to be a summer of fun.

Thousands of people forked out for tickets to see top comedy and music acts at venues around the country, including Wicksteed Park in Kettering.

But when the two firms involved in the gigs – M&B Promotions Ltd and Simple Ticketing Ltd – went bust, furious ticket-holders made allegations of fraud and faced a battle to be refunded.

One year on we speak to those who are still waiting to be repaid, the man in charge of the firms’ liquidation, the police and Wicksteed Park, which was booked as an event space and was not responsible for the cancellations or their handling.

What happened?

In 2020, a month after the firm which ran Wicksteed Park’s leisure facilities went into administration, it was announced that a new open air theatre would be created there with promoters M&B which would host shows from 2021.

Acts including John Bishop, James Acaster and Al Murray were announced for a huge comedy event, with demand for tickets so big that the website crashed. The same happened when tickets to see music superstar Craig David went on sale, with further gigs planned for UB40 and McFly.

But the comedy event was postponed until 2022, with organisers saying Covid-specific cancellation insurance for live events was not backed by the Government. Then the music events, which were due to take place after Covid restrictions had lifted, were also postponed. Tickets were rolled over to 2022 but many people were angry because they were unable to get a refund.

Big-name comics then pulled out of M&B’s gigs, saying they did not agree with the policy on withholding refunds. The Northants Telegraph revealed home-town hero James Acaster was already booked for another project on the date of the rescheduled event, leaving just one of the six comedians from the original line-up still on the bill. Ticket-holders were not told.

In January 2022 furious people said their demands for a refund were being ignored. Weeks later the promoters and ticket-sellers, which had traded as Easy Ticketing, ceased operations and all of their planned gigs were cancelled.

The battle for refunds

Those who had bought tickets were told to either contact PayPal or their bank/card provider to get their money back. But because they had shelled out for the tickets in 2020 – more than 18 months before the gigs were officially cancelled – many initially had their requests rejected because they had been ‘timed out’ from a refund.

Kettering MP Philip Hollobone promised to take up claims for those affected. A week later PayPal, who had been inundated with calls, said they would accept claims made after their 180-day deadline and would offer goodwill refunds.

But some people are still waiting for their money.

Caroline Stephenson, who lives in Barton Seagrave, paid £247.50 via PayPal for five tickets to the comedy gig. She was excited to see Rob Beckett and John Bishop and was planning on making a night of it with friends. When the gigs were cancelled she assumed she would get a refund – but her claim was rejected.

The 49-year-old said PayPal staff gave inconsistent answers when she repeatedly contacted them and that she has now given up.

She said: "It's just frustrating. Money isn't flush at the minute and I've not got money to waste.

"It's a lot of money to kiss goodbye to."

On February 9 we asked PayPal how many claims they had paid out on and why some have still had claims rejected. We did not receive a response.

Another person yet to be refunded is Celine Roué, who used her debit card to spend about £500 on eight tickets to the comedy gig.

The 50-year-old grew up in Kettering but now lives in Southampton. Her brother lives in Leeds and they had planned to meet up with friends and go to the event in their hometown to see James Acaster.

She only found out that it had been cancelled when her friends sent her a Facebook link. She said her requests to M&B Promotions for a refund fell on deaf ears.

She said: "It's not like it's a couple of quid. I feel like we have been duped."

Police investigation

In the days following the announcement that M&B Promotions and Simple Ticketing had ceased trading, reports about the saga were made to Action Fraud.

They were sent to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) – who identify cases for police forces to investigate – for assessment.

In May West Midlands Police confirmed that they had received allegations of ticket fraud and that they were making enquiries.

This month a spokesman for the force told the Northants Telegraph: “A 62-year-old woman has been voluntary interviewed in connection with allegations of ticket fraud and our enquiries are ongoing.”

Wicksteed Park did not receive any money from the bookings and is not being investigated by police.

Liquidation

Coventry-based M&B Promotions and Simple Ticketing officially went into liquidation in April and documents revealed they owed millions of pounds.

In total they owed more than £9m with talent agencies, payment providers and venues listed as creditors, although Wicksteed Park was not among them.

Liquidator Phil Ballard, from Lichfield-based LBK Insolvency Solutions, said he was unable to disclose information about his review of the companies’ affairs but that the chance of a dividend to creditors was slim.

He said: “If a liquidator finds any element of wrongdoing that breaches one of the many provisions set out in insolvency legislation, then a claim may be issued against the directors. Creditors will be notified if any such claim is issued in due course.

“As regards the customers who have been unsuccessful in obtaining a refund from PayPal, regrettably all we can advise is that they lodge a claim as an unsecured creditor in the liquidation proceedings. They can request a claim form by emailing [email protected].

“If we receive any funds into the liquidation this could result in a small return for creditors. However, at this time the prospects of a dividend to creditors remains unlikely.”

Future events and Wicksteed Park’s response

Gina Christie, from Kettering, bought VIP tickets for the comedy event at Wicksteed Park and finally got a refund from PayPal in September after a year of stress, having been forced to resort to messaging their chief executive directly on LinkedIn.

In January she received an email from Wicksteed Park asking her if she was interested in any of their new event ideas for 2023 – which included a stand-up comedy night.

But she said there was no way she would be buying tickets to it.

She said: "It seems Wicksteed has a short memory. Personally I feel Wicksteed’s culpability at the time was somewhat lacking and left a bitter taste.”

In response, a spokesman for Wicksteed Park said: “Regarding the cancelled event referred to, Wicksteed Park was one of several venues booked for a series of concerts by an external promotions company. As with all venue-only bookings, Wicksteed Park was not involved other than providing the space for the third-party event. The external event organiser was solely responsible for organising their own events, booking acts, dealing with agents, and selling tickets.

“All ticket revenue went to the promotions company, and they were not selling tickets on behalf of Wicksteed Park. Along with ticket-holders, the acts, their agents, and all other venues, we were notified via an email early last year that the promotions company’s scheduled events had been cancelled and that the company and its ticket platform had ceased operations.

“We understand and share the frustration and disappointment of people who bought tickets and have struggled to obtain refunds. Indeed, we have also not received any payment of the venue fees which we were due for these events.

“A comedy night is one of a number of events which we are considering holding at the park. This would be an event organised by Wicksteed Park and therefore we would be able to manage bookings, payments and any refunds which may be required, for whatever reason, in line with our own strict in-house standards. No external promoter would be involved.”

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