Man Utd Revises Season Ticket Policy

Following pressure from the Office of Fair Trading, Premier League champions Manchester United have agreed to revise their season ticket policies to make them fairer for fans.

A season ticket will now ensure a seat at all home league and cup games. While the club has also dropped its ‘One Year Only’ ticket and promised to be more transparent in its dealings with fans.

The OFT started its investigation into the current Premier League leaders’ ticketing practices last December following a complaint from the Manchester United Supporters Trust, which was supported in its action by national fans’ groups the Football Supporters’ Federation and Supporters Direct.

United denied its terms and conditions were unfair but told the OFT it would implement the changes the consumer watchdog flagged up in time for next season.

Among those changes are pledges to provide clearer information on when, where and why season ticket holders are relocated for cup games, more information on the potential cost of long cup runs and a clearer appeal process for disputes over season-ticket cancellations because of non-payment for cup games.

This last issue was raised by a number of MUST’s 35,000 members, some of whom had their season tickets automatically cancelled when automatic payments for cup games failed to go through.

MUST actually asked the government agency to look into three areas of United’s ticketing policy but the OFT opted to only pursue the ‘terms and conditions’ claims, saying a wider probe would have been too expensive.

This means Manchester United, the world’s second-richest football club in terms of revenue, can continue their controversial Automatic Cup Scheme (ACS), which means season ticket holders are required to purchase tickets for cup games, by automatic direct debit, whether they want them or not.

The club has however agreed to guarantee all season ticket holders a seat for every home cup tie. Last season, some holders of the ‘One Year Only’ ticket did not get tickets for the most attractive cup ties.

‘We are very pleased a season ticket will continue to include (European and FA) cup matches,’ said Manchester United’s chief operating officer Michael Bollingbroke.

‘That is central to our strategy and we have made the necessary changes for next season to avoid the situation where holders of some season tickets were not guaranteed tickets for some cup games.

‘While the number potentially affected was small, we accept all season tickets should come with that guarantee in future.’