A UB40 fan from Leeds paid £700 for tickets and has been left unimpressed after it was announced the Leeds show has been cancelled after the promoters went into liquidation.
It was announced on Tuesday UB40 featuring Ali Campbell on July 22 and Comedy in the Park on July 23 will not be going ahead this year at Temple Newsam.
This comes after promoters M&B Promotions said they have cancelled all their scheduled events as they will no longer be trading.
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The events company stated this is a result of the “extreme logistical and financial setbacks caused by the pandemic.”
M&B Promotions ticket platform Simple Ticketing Ltd has also gone into liquidation.
This has left fans struggling to get refunds with one Leeds man losing £700 in which he paid for 10 tickets last March.
The self-employed man bought tickets for himself and his wife costing £137.50 and the rest of the tickets were purchased for their friends who had given him the money to get tickets on their behalf.
Payment for the tickets went through Paypal last March when the tickets came out, meaning they can no longer get the money back as it has passed the 180 days deadline for refunds.
“We’ve all been ripped off,” said the UB40 fan speaking to LeedsLive. “I’ve followed them across the country and never had any problems.
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“I’ve followed UB40 for more than 40years, if not longer, I’ve travelled all over the country and the world to see them. A show came up in Leeds and I thought it was only up the road, that was in March.
"We had to go through Paypal to buy them, I bought me and my partners tickets as well as other people, we ended up buying 10 of them.
"A few months later due to Covid the show was postponed, they didn’t give the option to refund you just have to take it. Then this year came and yesterday the promoters had gone into liquidation.
“I bought 10 tickets for friends, it's not all my money, I’m only £137.50 I’ve lost. What I don’t have I don’t miss, that money went last March. It's a long time back, there’s a lot of people probably gutted there’s nothing they can do.
“It’s a lot of money, it's frustrating to know there’s nothing you can do about it. Who can you go to?
“Die hard UB40 fans won’t be impressed with this.”
The show was supposed to be taking place in November 2021 but due to the rising cases of coronavirus it was postponed without giving fans the option for a refund.
However, the man went on to add he didn’t understand why people were upset at UB40 as they were not to blame now that the show has been cancelled.
UB40 featuring Ali Campbell shared a post on Facebook announcing the cancellation of four shows including Leeds. They added other artists had been affected, not just them.
The social media post reads: “We have unfortunately just been informed that the following shows - Wickstead, Exeter, Southport and Leeds have been cancelled as the promoter has gone into liquidation.
“Unfortunately many artists have been affected by this, not just us. The situation is still ongoing and we are awaiting more information, we advise you to contact your ticket distributor to discuss refund options.
“We are upset that these shows can’t go ahead, we were looking forward to playing to you all but unfortunately it’s completely out of our hands. Big love, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell.”
An official statement from M&B Promotions said: "It is with a heavy heart and deep regret that we must announce the cancellation of all of our scheduled events, and the end of operations for M&B Promotions Ltd and our ticket platform Simple Ticketing Ltd.
"We have successfully delivered hundreds of events all over the country since 2019. With our final programme of events taking place in December 2021.
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"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."
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