According to MUST (Manchester United Supporters Trust) many long term season ticket holders are refusing to renew their season tickets because they believe that they are being forced to join the club's Automatic Cup Scheme - which dramatically increases the cost of a season ticket to over £1,000. Up to 20,000 fans could be affected. MUST is now talking about making some sort of legal challenge on behalf of the fans.
From what I gather, the confusion has been caused by conflicting signals from the club, the terms and conditions downloaded from United's official website makes no mention of compulsion to join the Automatic Cup Scheme - merely offering "the opportunity" to buy cup tickets via the ACS.
However it seems that United have done little or nothing to clear up the confusion, which once again puts the club in a very bad light. Could it be that the club have deliberately created this confusion? The fact that they've kept silent over this issue is actually damning, especially given that MUST has already publicly threatened to take legal action.
This is potentially a very dangerous situation for the Glazer family and United, because the last thing the Glazers needed right now was a drop in gate revenue as reports have recently suggested that the family might be looking to sell the club, following the realisation that United isn't the cash cow that they believed it was. That story has been denied, but if there is any truth in the stories and we already know about the club's huge annual interest repayments on the debt mountain, then the club might even be made bankrupt in the not too distant future if large swathes of United fans turn their backs on the club.
The existing ACS has worked well for United in financial terms, and there was no need to extend it making it compulsory - if indeed that is what they've done. The club is now on a collision course with the fans who were already seething over the rising price of tickets to watch United.
Many fans feel that they are being forced away from watching the club that they love and they will to a man blame the Glazer family. It is time for United to come out and clear up the confusion.
You've really got it in for the Glazers haven't you?
ReplyDeleteThe idea that OT won't be full to the seams is frankly laughable. For every season ticket holder who doesn't want one, there's ten fans who do.
The Glazers are responsible for loading the biggest debt in the history of world football on to the club, so yes I do have it in for them.
ReplyDeleteAs if that wasn't bad enough, as a direct consequence of this debt, United are driving ticket prices ever higher and according to reports they have forced long standing fans on to this ACS - the net result is many fans cannot afford to renew their season tickets. Here again I blame this on the Glazer family and the Irish duo who sold us down the river - we should never forget them and their act of treachery.
Take a look at this link, there seems to be a lot of unhappy fans:
http://www.dontrenew.co.uk/sign.php
Time will tell what happens, but I fear it will end it tears.
The new requirement that renewal of season tickets is subject joining the automatic cup ticket scheme is, I believe, illegal.
ReplyDeleteThe terms and conditions were unilaterally imposed by the club on all season ticket holders as a pre-requisite to renewing their season tickets and I contend that this falls within ‘The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.’
For league matches there is a defined fixture list for all nineteen home matches so we as a ‘consumer’ are purchasing a known commodity.
Cup matches are entirely different as the club are coercing supporters to agree, in advance, to purchase a commodity (tickets for matches) without the supporter (the ‘Consumer) knowing what they are committed to purchasing i.e. how many tickets, who is the opposition, what is the financial commitment etc. As an example if there were 7 cup matches the cost could be an in the region of additional £280 for matches one may not wish to attend.
The policy is in breach of the 1999 Regulations and needs to be challenged in the courts.
It is appalling that greed has led the club down this path.