A couple have been left disappointed with a Nottingham venue after they were unable to attend an event due to Covid. Financial service administrator Michelle Dowdall, 53, of West Bridgford, and her husband had tickets for An Evening With Aggers and Cook at the Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday, October 5, but couldn't attend after Michelle tested positive for Covid.
Michelle bought the tickets earlier this year in June as her husband, Lee, is "a mad cricket fan". Disheartened because of her positive test, Michelle emailed the venue and asked if it would be possible to have either a refund or credit note as she didn't want to risk infecting others.
She said: "I emailed them to say, look I have two tickets for this show could I have either a refund or a credit note, and they sent me this deadpan message saying no, tough, we don't offer refunds. So what you're saying is I could quite happily come along and sit in that audience."
But the venue said it has "continuously adapted its policies and procedures to follow the latest government and industry guidance".
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Michelle and her family attended the George Ezra concert at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday, October 1, for her son's first concert, which is where Michelle fears she could have possibly picked up the virus. She said: "I'm still working from home and everything, we don't go out anywhere and that's like the first thing we have been to in three years."
After speaking with members of staff at the concert hall, Michelle was told that they no longer offer refunds for Covid. She said: "They weren't showing much compassion at all for tickets that I bought in June.
"If I had known that in June I wouldn't have bought them. I can't attend, I don't want to come along and be ill. I just thought their whole policy was a rip off really.
"At the time he (Lee) tested negative, but he said I don't want to go because what if I've got it coming on and then I test positive, just that social awareness that we don't want to be going anywhere and giving it to anyone else." The couple found the policy to be "harsh" and feel that Covid is more serious then just a winter cold.
Michelle said: "If I had just got a normal cold we obviously would have still gone along, but I just think Covid is a whole different entity. That's £65 down the drain, such a waste of money.
"Even just to say look I know it's only a one night show, but even to offer us a refund for just half the tickets as we would have used it on something else, we go there for loads of shows."
The couple are planning to take their son to see Jules Holland at the venue next month, but now have concerns over the venue's "harsh" policy. Michelle said: "Those tickets have cost £176, and I think gosh you know if any of us are positive then that's a lot of money to be losing.
"You never know when you buy these tickets if you're going to be ill or not, especially with Covid."
A spokesperson for the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham said: “Throughout the pandemic, the health and safety of everyone who uses our venues has been our top priority. We have continuously adapted our policies and procedures to follow the latest government and industry guidance.
"This includes our refund policy, where customers who have tested positive for Covid are no longer offered an automatic refund, but are subject to our standard terms and conditions where tickets will not be refunded unless a performance is cancelled. However, if a customer does find themselves in this situation, we would always encourage them to contact us for further help and advice.
"Wherever possible, we will transfer them to an alternate performance, offer to re-sell their tickets for them if the event is sold out, or offer them the opportunity to see a similar event within the same series i.e. a classical concert within the same season.”
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