Billetnet Blames Viagogo

The head of Denmark’s leading ticketing firm disputes Viagogo’s claims that only three fans were turned away from a Coldplay show because their tickets were invalid.

Eric Baker’s secondary ticketing company said four people failed to get in, a figure it’s since revised to three, but Jakob H. Lund – who headed a team running access control at the Parken Stadium show Sept. 28 – estimates it was “150 to 200 customers, most likely closer to the latter.”

 
Lund is managing director at Billetnet, Denmark’s largest ticketing company and the Ticketmaster subsidiary that was primary ticketer for Coldplay. 
 
He told Pollstar the reason that his team didn’t collect more accurate information was because some people were too angry to talk them.
 
“Some stormed out – calling down the wrath of God on everybody’s heads – making a complete registration impossible, but our documentation would obviously be stronger if we had collected as much of that data as possible,” he said.
 
He’s also angry that he had more than a dozen people at the entrances to Parken and they had to deal with the problem.
 
“Billetnet’s help desk dealt with 125-150 unhappy, disappointed and angry customers,” he said. “I don’t recall seeing Viagogo there.”
 
Viagogo says fans have not complained they were turned away.
 
“In response to the wild claims of 200, we called our customers, and stopped calling after the first 50 we spoke to told us they had all gained entry,” said Viagogo head of marketing Ed Parkinson.
 
“So the idea that beyond the three that couldn’t get in, there were a further 197 people turned away who chose not to use our guarantee and request their money back, or contact our customer services team, or raise the issue through social or traditional media, is inconceivable.
 
“That said, if anyone has details of anyone else who was turned away, we would be grateful if they could be put in touch with us so that we may uphold our guarantee and refund them,” he said. 
 
The show promoter was Live Nation, which has previously told Pollstar that it doesn’t supply tickets to Viagogo.