Ticketmaster Slammed Over Coronation Concert Ticket “Shambles”

UK consumers are crying foul after a Ticketmaster mess related to a concert taking place as part of the Coronation process for King Charles next month. Many were informed via email that they had won tickets through a “ballot” process run by the ticketing giant, only to later find out that they were out of luck and the event was sold out.

Adding insult to injury, several impacted fans say they had already booked travel or hotel reservations under the assumption they had tickets, and are now out of pocket for those expenses.

“It was a real sucker-punch,” says Aaron Gill, who told The Sun he had booked a £400 room moments after getting the ‘congratulations’ email. “It clearly states you have two days. My first thought was I need to sort accommodation. I rang my girlfriend and she was really excited. Then within ten minutes I got another email basically saying they’re all gone.”

Multiple reports indicate that the communication from the ticketing giant was, at best, confusing and misleading. Recipients were first informed that they had been successful in the ballot. Then, “Tickets in this supplementary round are being offered to a randomly selected group of ballot winners on a first come, first served basis, so you will need to act quickly in claiming your tickets,” including a link to a button headlined: “How to claim your tickets now.”

The ‘lucky fans’ were also told they had 48 hours to claim their tickets until 12.00 on April 27 before they got released. But when they tried to purchase the tickets on Ticketmaster, they came across with a message, reading: “Tickets are currently unavailable from Ticketmaster. We’re unable to find tickets right now, please try again later.”

On April 25, Ticketmaster UK announced the sold-out on its Twitter account: “Tickets for the supplementary first-come, first-serve round of The Coronation Concert ballot have now sold out. Enjoy it in your own way next month, whether it’s in Windsor or at home with friends!”