Severe weather hits New Zealand, Kiwisaver cuts not ruled out and senior doctors on strike.
Brittnay Sawyer’s family was moved from front-row seats at the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live show due to “production requirements”.
About 500 tickets at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium were affected because of safety issues.
Consumer NZ said affected customers should be compensated or offered a full refund.
A mother who spent hundreds of dollars to secure special seating for her family at a Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live show is irate after being booted from their front-row seats.
The first-ever New Zealand shows will hit Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 20.
BrittnaySawyer told the Herald she specifically booked those seats for her disabled 5-year-old daughter in the event of an emergency.
Dozens of other parents have faced similar changes, with one claiming they were switched to “s***” seats.
Ticketmaster told the Herald it had relocated seats to the Dunedin event “due to production requirements for the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks event”.
The Herald approached TEG, the promoter for the event, which said “approximately 500 tickets were reallocated due to a safety issue found during a late sight inspection”.
“These seats should never have been sold and were caught during presale.”
Christchurch mum Sawyer spent about $700 on tickets to take her family, including her 5-year-old daughter with epilepsy, to the event.
She bought the tickets during a presale in March, choosing row A seats in section 309.
The Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live show in Dunedin on September 20 will mark the first time the event has been performed in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
On April 17, Sawyer received an email revealing that her seats were no longer available because of “production requirements” and new seats had been assigned in a “new spot in the same price category”.
But when checking her tickets on Ticketmaster‘s website, she found they’d been moved 15 rows back to row Q with restricted view seats.
The front 10 rows closest to the stadium pitch had become inaccessible, and row L was now the front row.
“The reason why we got row A ... so no one was in front of us is because my 5-year-old has epilepsy,” Sawyer told the Herald.
Their original seats were “right by the stairs”, so if anything did happen they would have the ability to exit quickly.
“Her epilepsy is ... triggered by temperature change, so going to the show wouldn’t have been a problem in itself.”
With people now “in front”, “behind” and “beside” their young family, she called Ticketmaster and asked what she could do.
A customer service representative told her to put her claim in writing, so she emailed through her situation and requested to be moved somewhere that‘s “going to work”.
However, Ticketmaster rejected her request, saying all the seating allocations had been exhausted.
Christchurch mother Brittnay Sawyer with her two daughters, Meah and Bellah. Photo / Supplied
The Commerce Commission states that if someone pays for premium tickets and later has their seats moved, then they’re usually entitled to a refund under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
Consumer NZ’s Sahar Lone said Ticketmaster’s handling of the situation is “poor form”.
“Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, ticketing agents must carry out their services with reasonable care and skill.
“They must also hold up their end of the deal under contract law.
“If a ticket buyer paid a premium for specific seats but has been allocated inferior seats, they should either be compensated, reallocated premium seats or offered a full refund.
“If Ticketmaster refuses to sort out the problem, the ticket buyer can contact her bank to request a chargeback, or lodge a claim at the Disputes Tribunal.”
TEG said individuals affected “were moved to seats of equal value”.
“Refunds are available for anyone unhappy with their new seats.”
Hundreds of seats affected by ‘safety issue’
In a Facebook group, many concerned parents shared that their seats had also been moved by the company.
“Seriously Ticketmaster New Zealand did you not have a plan in place before selling tickets! Just checked ours after seeing this post and see we’ve been moved way back,” one person wrote.
“We also got shifted from the front to the back, we are so livid, but I also don’t want to cancel altogether because the kids are looking forward to going, absolutely appalling!” another said.
A third customer claimed they’d been reallocated “s***” seats, with friends reassigned to a different section, and complained to Ticketmaster over the phone.
They said they were now getting a full refund.
Ticketmaster said attendees are “welcome to reach out to our Fan Support team with any queries regarding their relocated seats”.
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of fans during this process.”
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based journalist who covers breaking news, specialising in lifestyle, entertainment and travel. He joined the Herald in 2023.
