Ticket dilemma facing fans
Reporter WITH Newcastle United yet to be sold and no sign of any incoming players, some fans may be considering calling it a day by cancelling their season tickets.
Yesterday, news reports said the potential deal for Amanda Staveley and PCP Capital Partners to buy the club has broken down. Mike Ashley maintains United are still up for sale, but he wants any takeover to happen without media attention.
For frustrated fans signed up to direct debit schemes – where they pay monthly instalments for their season card – one option could be to simply contact their bank, cancel their direct debit and stop paying.
But those signed up to 2017-18’s direct debit scheme may want to think twice about not paying next month’s instalment.
If Newcastle United does not receive a payment due from a season ticket holder, the club will contact that fan to tell them their scheduled payment has not arrived.
This is to give fans a chance to explain what has happened – like if they simply could not afford the payment – and to potentially set up a plan to pay the balance back.
But if the fan ignores the club’s correspondence, or refuses to pay, their season ticket will most likely be cancelled. If a payment is still owed when there is a home Premier League fixture at St James’ Park, that fan’s season ticket will usually be void for that game.
Supporters who have a genuine reason for not being able to pay may be welcome to sign up for direct debit agreements in the future, but that decision is up to the club, which will decide on a case-by-case basis.
Here is what the club says in the 2017-18 terms and conditions:
“If the customer fails to make a payment by the due date the club may terminate the agreement without further notice to the customer and admittance to the ground may be refused.
“At the club’s sole discretion, immediate payment by an alternative method may be accepted. No payments taken by direct debit will be refunded in any circumstances.
“Customers opting to cancel the direct debit payment plan may lose the future right to pay in this way. Should a direct debit instruction be cancelled after payments taken then no refunds will be made in any circumstances.”
Fans signed up to direct debit schemes for the 2017-18 season make eight monthly payments. Their first was in July. That means February’s payment is their final instalment. Once the club receives that fan’s February payment, their 2017-18 season ticket is paid off. With most supporters having paid their seventh instalment on January 1 or January 15, anyone who decides not to pay in February risks missing games in February, March, April and May, despite having just one payment left to make.
From February, there are six home matches remaining.
Supporters signed up to longterm, multi-season deals will still be charged direct debits in March, but those are to pay for their 2018/19 season ticket.
Our understanding is that a fan on a long-term deal who cancels their March payment will still have a valid season ticket for the remainder of the 2017-18 season – as long as they have made their February payment. If they don’t pay February’s instalment, they may risk their ticket getting cancelled for the remainder of this season. But the club will contact them for further information should they cancel their payment.