A Westlife fan who paid for seats at a concert by the band in Glasgow is angry that she was told she had to stand at the last minute.
Verity Tynan paid £147.60 for two tickets to the band’s The Twenty Tour concert as a Christmas present for her taxi driver partner Graham Pert at The SSE Hydro on May 28.
The couple each took a day off work to travel to Glasgow where they had also paid £75 for a room at the Mercure Glasgow City Hotel.
They had bought tickets for seats on the lower level of venue and joined the queues waiting for The SSE Hydro’s doors to open at 6.30pm.
Then, at 6.35pm The SSE Hydro announced that due to logistical issues there would be no seats available on the lower level and everyone with tickets there would have to stand.
A statement published ahead of the gig on its website, SSE Hydro said: “Due to transport delays, the seating layout for the Westlife show this evening has been changed.
“The event was originally fully seated and is now a seated and standing show.”
Verity, 42, an administrator at Dundee Football Club, said: “We were looking forward to the concert.
“They said that if you didn’t want to stand you could get a refund but they did not offer any help on how to get that.
“They must have known and should have put something out earlier.
“There were people in wheelchairs and on crutches who were trying to get people to come and pick them up.
“People had booked hotels and to travel to Glasgow. We were booked into the Mercure and paid for petrol and £10 for overnight parking.
“I understand these things happen but it’s the lack of communication and customer care.”
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The couple applied for tickets via Ticketmaster and they are seeking a refund.
Verity and Graham, 54, of Peebles Drive, Dundee, did not go to the concert in the end as they would not be eligible for a refund if they had.
Westlife were booked to appear at the venue between May 28 and June 5.
Live Nation, the promoters of the show, issued a statement saying ‘On May 28 Westlife’s Twenty Tour at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro suffered seating configuration adjustments due to the delay of production elements of the Twenty Tour arriving at the arena.
‘This is a rare and isolated incident. The remainder of the Twenty Tour at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro and across the UK will not be subject to any further seating issues.’
