A judge has ordered Ticketmaster to fully reimburse a Coldplay fan who had to crouch in “restricted view” seats during the band’s sold-out Croke Park concert last year, leaving him unable to see the show, reports Breaking News.
James McGetrick, who had looked forward to seeing Coldplay perform hits like Fix You and Yellow as part of their Music of the Spheres world tour in Dublin, told the court the night ended in “disaster”.
Dublin District Court heard that he secured pre-sale tickets for the August 29th concert to attend with his wife, only to find themselves seated near the back of the lower Hogan Stand with an obstructed view, reports Breaking News.
McGetrick brought a small claims case against Ticketline Unlimited Company, which operates as Ticketmaster.
He testified before Judge Peter White that he bought the tickets through an artist pre-sale well in advance of general release, reports Breaking News.
He paid €332 for two seats in the lower section of the Hogan Stand.
On the night, they were directed to the fourth row from the back. He explained that the stage setup was elevated for fans standing on the pitch, which made visibility worse from his position, reports Breaking News.
He and his wife were unable to see the band from their seats.
With fans in front standing throughout, they too had to stand in order to catch a glimpse of the stage. Additionally, the overhang from the upper Hogan Stand further restricted their view, reports Breaking News.
As the concert progressed, fans behind them, who had an even worse view, began standing in the aisles.
After about seven or eight songs, McGetrick and three girls seated in the row ahead approached a steward for help, reports Breaking News.
He claimed the stewards were more focused on the concert than managing the crowd and had not been checking behind them.
McGetrick, who lives on Corrib Road in Terenure, Dublin 6, said the stewards accompanied them back to the stand and instructed people in the aisles to return to their seats, reports Breaking News.
That escalated the situation, he said, as “all those people who were sent back to the seats started to blame myself, now they could not see anything as well”.
He said the mood turned hostile, with “popcorn and litter being thrown at us, it was just terrible”, reports Breaking News.
He contacted Ticketmaster the next day to complain, and was told to reach out to the promoter, MCD.
He originally filed his claim against MCD, but the court directed him to pursue Ticketmaster instead, reports Breaking News.
After restarting the process against the ticketing company — which he said kept “pawning me off” — he filed a fresh claim.
Ticketmaster eventually offered him €190, but McGetrick insisted on the full refund for the price he paid, reports Breaking News.
He emphasised that the tickets were not marked as having a restricted view, and he expected better seats because he had purchased them via the artist pre-sale.
“The whole thing was a disaster,” he told the court.
With no representatives from Ticketmaster present to dispute the claim, and based on McGetrick’s evidence and purchase records, Judge White ruled in his favour, reports Breaking News.
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