The father of an Oasis-obsessed teenager says he was so ‘overwhelmed’ that he vomited when his tickets for their reunion tour were cancelled just hours before the concert. Phil Hessey, 39, shelled out over £1,000 in total for three tickets to the iconic band’s second night at Heaton Park in Manchester on Saturday (July 12) for himself, his 15 year old son Kaiden, and a family friend.
However, he says he felt as if the ‘life was sucked out of him’ when he was informed on the day that two of the tickets were no longer valid. Phil, from Liverpool, managed to purchase one ticket during the initial rush last summer, which he promised to Kaiden. He then hoped to acquire one for himself later on, which he did via secondary ticket site Viagogo earlier this month.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “My lad is a mad Oasis fan, he was brought up watching them on YouTube and all the videos – I was really into them when I was younger. The ticket advertised was £148, that turned into £394. I was like ‘what’ but I’d made a promise to my son that I’d get tickets, so I bought that from Ticketmaster. I hadn’t bought mine, but I’d made a promise to my son that we would go, I had an idea that I could get mine later.”
Phil continued: “I thought some would be sold closer to the shows, so I kept looking. I bought two tickets from Viagogo on July 1, my friend had expressed interest, so I got one for me and him to go with Kaiden. They were advertised in pounds sterling and I paid £714, which went out of my bank. They were general admission and I was over the moon – I now had three tickets. I was disgusted with how much they cost but I’d got them.”
On Friday (July 11), Phil received an email from Viagogo confirming that the tickets would be arriving soon, and another the next day stating that they would be in his account by midday. However, what happened next left him completely devastated.
The concert last Saturday was scheduled to start at 6pm with Cast, then Richard Ashcroft, and Oasis set to take the stage at 8.15pm. Phil shared: “Later on Saturday, at 10.38am, I got an email saying the tickets had been cancelled. The life was sucked out of me. It said the seller was no longer able to fulfil the order. When the ticket got cancelled, I was so overwhelmed. I ran to the bathroom and was sick in the sink.”
Viagogo has extended an apology for the cancellation of the tickets and is currently attempting to secure Phil tickets for another date. However, Phil mentioned that his son faced complications on Saturday evening when heading to Heaton Park, eager not to miss the highly anticipated gig.
He noted that his son’s ticket indicated general admission but also mentioned a complimentary upgrade to the front standing area, which he believed was optional.
Phil reached out to several friends and acquaintances who were also attending the concert to make sure his son Kaiden would be accompanied by an adult. He drove Kaiden to the event and escorted him to the park, but recounted that his son was turned away at multiple entrances, causing distress for both of them.
He recounted: “Under 16s needed an adult to go in with. I drove him, parked a mile away, walked him all the way down. I was still a bag of nerves, I wouldn’t be there with him. I spoke to the stewards. I said I wanted to downgrade him, I wanted him to go in with an adult. They said that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Phil described further troubles getting Kaiden into the gig, saying he was “in a state of panic” until a kind family offered to take care of him. Phil said: “A random family, who I owe a massive debt of gratitude to, saw he was on his own, and said ‘stay with us and we’ll look after him’. He ended up enjoying the gig.”
However, Phil pointed out that the stress they experienced was due to his and his friend’s tickets being cancelled at such short notice. Although he has received a refund, he voiced dissatisfaction with the amount returned. Phil said: “I raised it with Viagogo and they said they couldn’t get more tickets. I had to take a refund. £714.81 went out of my bank in the original transaction but I’ve got £679.11 back. That’s a £35.70 shortfall. They’ve said that it’s due to a conversion fee to Australian Dollars, but the tickets were advertised in pounds sterling.”
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A Viagogo spokesperson explained that the difference in price was because the ticket was sold in Australian Dollars and suggested that any discrepancy in fees should be discussed with the bank.
Viagogo is understood to have offered Phil two tickets to one of the subsequent gigs at Heaton Park, before the band heads to London. However, Phil still wanted to warn others of what he went through, to help them avoid a similar situation.
A Viagogo spokesperson stated: “On Viagogo, fans are protected by our guarantee. We ensure fans receive their tickets in time for the event and in the rare event of an issue, we offer them replacement tickets or their money back.”
The spokesperson added: “In this instance, the buyer had purchased the ticket in AUS dollars and therefore, was refunded the same amount in AUS dollars. The discrepancy in fees is with the bank and we advise Phil to raise the matter with his bank. Our number one priority is to get people into live events and we are deeply sorry that on this occasion, Phil was unable to attend the concert.”
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