UPDATED 11072013 7.20 CET
Thought I'd close the loop on this long running saga that got a lot of people worried...needlessly for the most part since the actual Tiet setup on July 6th was very much in line with what IORR member marquess suggested below and most people were happy with it, especially T1 ticket holders who got there fairly early (probably until 6PM) and enjoyed a "pit" experience similar to the O2/Arenas, albeit 20% "cheaper"...

Gripes :
- The Garden announced for T1/T2 did not exist, there was only an overcrowded bar that was not clearly indicated as T1/T2 and used by everyone
- No Garden, no toilets, so when the West toilets were closed around 7.45PM we had to go to the East toilets completely on the opposite side (the original location of "The Garden"), a stressful 30 minute trip!

Paulywaul obtained a feedback form here [www.iorr.org] - feel free to use it!

Here is a sketch provided by Green Lady that shows how it ended up :



UPDATED 17042013 5.00PM CET
AEG/Frontgatetickets are now processing the refunds/downgrades but check your revised invoice because in some cases it's not what was agreed! You'd think that after selling tickets with wrong descriptions they'd do their best to ensure the revised orders are correct...

UPDATED 09042013 6.00PM CET
AEG have now gotten back to marquee concerning the improved map he suggested but claim that "this is not possible", with no reason given, full answer here : [www.iorr.org]

It was confirmed yesterday by Rob Hallett that Bon Jovi would play with Diamond and Gold circles on the 5th. It's very disappointing the Stones fans are being denied what the Bon Jovi fans are getting especially since that's what was originally promised, whose call is it? Since it's not the promoter's it has to be the band's...

An interesting link : what do If you don’t get the event tickets you ordered in adviceguide.org.uk - (credit : vdkf on page 31)

Using the current map posted on the BSC site, the BBC "Virtual Tour" video [www.bbc.co.uk] and the concert speaker towers down front as reference, wsmbm planned the T1 and T2 areas :

---

UPDATED 09042013 9.30AM CET
According to feedback on page 28 refunds are bow being processed by Frontgate (ticket agent for the BST site) with both fees (10%) and shipping (up to £90 international, £30 for shipping and £59,80 for "Delivery International mail" ) being refunded to those who made the request.

AEG have not commented on suggestions made to improve the situation such as Marquee's map (see below) but are maintaining a hard line in some answers like the one received by IGTBA : "Thanks for your constructive feedback and response. Unfortunately the previous e-mail is the best that we can offer in this situation and the official response from AEG. Please let us know whether you would like a full refund on your ticket, or a downgrade to the GA ticket price within 3 business days."

One member, kernowmod, made a complaint to his credit card company (Barclaycard), who "very helpful they agreed that AEG have failed to supply what was promised, I may not get the plan changed, but someone is going to have to [tell] me why.

---

UPDATED 08042013 3.45PM CET
AEG have started getting back to people who requested a refund, asking them to provide their order number and the name of the ticket agent they used. No word yet on the next steps of the process and whether they will be refunding the 10% service fees and postage (£30 for international orders).

---

UPDATED 08042013 2.45AM CET
An IORR member has come up with a new map that provides an interesting compromise to try to reconcile the descriptions provided on the BST site at the time the T1/T2/T3 tickets were sold (detailed below) with the Stones' wish to have GA(T3) ticket holders in FOS (Front of Stage), full details here : [www.iorr.org] and this is the proposed map :

---

UPDATED 06042013 11.45PM CET
The story has been picked up by The Telegraph : Rolling Stones fans in row over premium tickets.

Of interest, some research on the legal implications of selling misrepresented items : [www.iorr.org]

---

UPDATED 06042013 1.15PM CET
Although some people were given a 3 day deadline by M. Rob Hallett ( rob@aeglive.co.uk ) President of International Touring at AEG Live (the promoters of the BSC Festival) to decide whether they wanted a refund/downgrade/upgrade (for pay upgrade not offered to all), further requests for clarification have not been answered since last night.

The original description in the "Tickets" sections has been added below, previously we had a screen capture of the purchase page, the content is the same.

It should also be noted that there is now mention of "The Garden" an area exclusive to T1/T2 holders with food, drinks and toilets. "The Garden" had never been mentioned before, which could only encourage potential buyers to get the "Unwind Backstage Bar" for an extra £100 to get access to such essential services. As seen on the map, "The Garden" is in fact located closer to T1 and T2 than the "Unwind Backstage Bar"!

So there are two issues really:
- inducing potential buyers to buy more expensive T1 and T2 tickets by using fraudulent descriptions of T1/T2/T3 placement.
- inducing potential T1 and T2 buyers to purchase the "Unwind Backstage Bar" package for an extra £100 by not mentioning that its essential services like toilets, food and drinks came with standard T1 and T2 tickets in "The Garden".

---

UPDATED 05042013 11.00PM CET
M. Rob Hallett, President of International Touring at AEG Live (the promoters of the BSC Festival), has now replied to emails sent to him inquiring as to what the actual setup will be at Hyde Park for the festival in view of the inconsistencies between what was written on the BSC site where the tickets were sold and the map published on the Rolling Stones twitter account and the information he gave to The Standard this morning.

The same email (seen here: [www.iorr.org]) was sent to everyone and in summary, he does not acknowledge that T1 and T2 buyers were misled (the descriptions on the BST site have now been changed, see below) but nonetheless a full refund or a downgrade to T3 is offered. Apparently a decision has to be made within 3 days and at this point it is not clear whether the refund includes fees (10%) and shipping (£30 for international), since a "full refund" is mentioned, hopefully they do.

Overview map of the final setup :


Detailed map of the final setup :



NEW DESCRIPTION of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 :




OLD DESCRIPTION of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 :

---

UPDATED 05042013 7.30PM CET
Based on info received from the ticketing company it appears the map posted on the RS Twitter is a "fake" (their own words) and that there will indeed be T1 in the front, T2 behind it and then T3...an official confirmation has yet to ve made though.

---

ORIGINAL POST : SUMMARY - Confusion on "Seating Chart" at Hyde Park ! Rip-off for Diamond/T1 and Gold/T2 Tickets ?

When rumours started of a possible Rolling Stones concert at Hyde Park in July, people wondered what the setup would be like, especially since they'd used a "tongue pit" at their recent 2012 shows that was much appreciated by those who made it there. Originally we had this to go buy (found by ByeBye Johnny in early March)



Bon Jovi's setup, although it's not clear if it was for Hyde Park or their stadium tour.

Then when the tickets went for sale (pre-sale on Wednesday 03/04) we had this :

GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage
GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 3 – access to the main spectator area



and for the "Hospitality Packages" (An added £100 to T1 and T2), the Unwind Backstage Bar :





Which was consistent with the Bon Jovi setup above (except that GA no longer had access to the FOS) and consistent with the Bon Jovi Hyde Park ticketing as well. In effect it looked more like this chart published by Ticketmaster on their site:



...then the Rolling Stones twitter posted this on 03/04 late evening :



Confusion set in

After the show sold out today, Mr. Hallett, the concert promoter from AEG, declared on [www.standard.co.uk] that

Quote

“The band wanted the regular ticket-holders to be right at the front of the stage staring at the whites of their eyes, not 200 yards away,” he said.

“The people who have coughed up for hospitality packages will get looked after in a way they have never known before. But when the doors open, if you can run faster than the next guy, it will be like any other general admission gig.”

Then the RS twitter account posted this at about 1PM BST :



With the picture being :



Where (as paulywaul posted in the HP thread) :

A - there is no Tier 1/DIAMOND CIRCLE area
B - GA extends all the way to the front of stage

So what gives ? Confusion, rip-off, both ? This needs to be clarified ASAP !



Edited 32 time(s). Last edit at 2013-07-11 20:31 by gotdablouse.

If this layout had been there pre the tickets actually going on sale, nobody would have bought anything apart from a £95 ticket. The tickets as sold are therefore a gross misrepresentation and should be refunded/exchanged.

Satisfied since 1976

Exactly, I will try sending a link to this summary to the journalist who wrote the Standard article, can someone who's on twitter post it on the Stones' twitter too ?

Send an email to the ticket office:

[uksupport.frontgatetickets.com]

Good idea but that link is not working for me ?

Official Rolling Stones twitter shows exactly this nasty layout "Here's the layout for @BST_hydepark 'StonesHydePark, see you down the front! pic.twitter.com/2kIYC2NB0X"... after tix are sold out, incredible & unfair for those who bought the expensive ones ...

Andreas



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-04-05 15:20 by arc-angel.

Hmmm, basically from the normal BST website where we purchased, there is a "Contact Us";
[uksupport.frontgatetickets.com]

I've just sent this to info@bst-hydepark.com

Hi,
I have just seen a plan of the stage layout on Twitter.....where, exactly is the GA Tier 1 access to the area directly in front of the stage and where is the GA Tier 2 access to an area closer to the stage than general admission. I bought my £399 tickets expressly on the understanding that the description as advertised would be right in front of the stage, so exactly how does that tally with the stage layout on Twitter ?
This is gross misrepresentation. I assume you will be offering everyone who bought Tier 1 and 2 tickets their money back.
I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Satisfied since 1976

I think this wasn't the original plan. They changed it because of some controversy. And now ofcourse bigger controversy.
They should do the same as Bon Jovi.

I bought tickets that are closer to the stage than tier 3. So that's where I want to be on july 6 for £199.

I don't want my money back though - I want what I paid for!

They will have to revert to the earlier configuration, surely? Still allows Tier 3 people to get to the front, albeit at the sides.

Quote
BowieStone
I think this wasn't the original plan. They changed it because of some controversy. And now ofcourse bigger controversy.
They should do the same as Bon Jovi.

I bought tickets that are closer to the stage than tier 3. So that's where I want to be on july 6 for £199.

Yeah you are damn right!

To keep everything in the same thread I will repost my comments from the Hyde Park thread.

If this is the true layout, the only available option would be to cancel all the transactions, refund everyone's money and restart the ticket sale. The fact that no layout was provided before today, it was only natural that assumptions would be made that the layout would be the same as Bon Jovi the night before. The text on the BST ticket page would indicate this would be the case. The layout may be incorrect, but I believe the £299 tickets will end up being in the hospitality area. Disappointing for those hoping to get in on the action. They may end up mingling with the picnic munchers.

@BowieStone - What's that "some controversy" you're referring to? Did it occur when the BJ tickets went on sale ?

I mean it's fine for them to want to change the BJ setup but the fact is they sold tickets under a false description starting on Wednesday, which is fraudulent.

Whatever way you look at the descriptions, they can't be twisted into fitting that plan :

Quote

GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage
GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 3 – access to the main spectator area

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-04-05 15:25 by gotdablouse.

Legally, this cannot remain like this... I guess the organizers, ticket sellers, Stones' people, will all have several phone calls this afternoon, and they will come up with something, but you just cannot sell on lies to thousands of people and think it's gonna go unnoticed...

For bv: can we get that thread highlighted at the top ? Journalists are watching this... yesterday they quoted a few posts from hear in an article (Daily mail). I guess having more visibility on this mess will help.

Post on their Facebook page too

[www.facebook.com]

Quote
beepee2
Legally, this cannot remain like this... I guess the organizers, ticket sellers, Stones' people, will all have several phone calls this afternoon, and they will come up with something, but you just cannot sell on lies to thousands of people and think it's gonna go unnoticed...

I belive you are right, there should, paradoxically, also come some pressure from Viagogo et al since they are looking at great losses if this plan stays - which it should NOT.

The people who have coughed up for hospitality packages will get looked after in a way they have never known before.

That's an awfully presumptuous thing to say. How do they know how you guys have been looked after before?

This plan they have released makes me think of Mr Bean's whistler's mother:

I have sent an email to arts@standard.co.uk explaining the situation and linking to this thread.

Quote
beepee2
For bv: can we get that thread highlighted at the top ? Journalists are watching this... yesterday they quoted a few posts from hear in an article (Daily mail). I guess having more visibility on this mess will help.

and here a link to the other thread [www.iorr.org]

Pasted in from the HP planning thread, to keep things in the correct thread ........

Quote
thunderball

Quote
Christos

In my humble opinion, golden, platinum, diamond, etc circles are ridiculous for a rock n roll band. Being closer to the stage should be a matter of how early you arrive, not how much money you can afford to spend.

Totally agree. thumbs up

Yes perhaps, but if at the time and point of sale it clearly states that there are such arrangements, then at the very least they should exist as described. This is not the case here, it is a case of blatant deceit !!

Whether or not you think there should or should not be such layout is immaterial, the fact of the matter is that tickets were sold WITHOUT a layout diagram, but WITH a written description of what money bought what ticket and WHERE !!

What has happened now is that with release of the layout diagram, it is clear that the written description of the different ticket price categories was misleading, in fact it was WHOLLY INACCURATE.

THAT .... is fraud. THAT .... is wilful deceit, THAT .... is unacceptable.

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Quote
gotdablouse
Whatever way you look at the descriptions, they can't be twisted into fitting that plan :

Quote

GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage
GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 3 – access to the main spectator area

Yes, they can.
When you look at the picture you see white blocks from the hospitality area and the gold circle to the general admission section. I assume these are gates where you can enter the general admission area.
So technically you have access to the area directly in front of the stage.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

How about those web pages reselling Tier 1 tickets at 10.000 gbp??? What will they do now???

Those resellers usually have better info than us and I cannot think they were not aware of the final configuration...

Quote
Rolling Hansie

Quote
gotdablouse
Whatever way you look at the descriptions, they can't be twisted into fitting that plan :

Quote

GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage
GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 3 – access to the main spectator area

Yes, they can.
When you look at the picture you see white blocks from the hospitality area and the gold circle to the general admission section. I assume these are gates where you can enter the general admission area.
So technically you have access to the area directly in front of the stage.

Are you their lawyer?

Quote
Rolling Hansie

Quote
gotdablouse
Whatever way you look at the descriptions, they can't be twisted into fitting that plan :

Quote

GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage
GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 3 – access to the main spectator area

Yes, they can.
When you look at the picture you see white blocks from the hospitality area and the gold circle to the general admission section. I assume these are gates where you can enter the general admission area.
So technically you have access to the area directly in front of the stage.

OK, you might have ACCESS. But - what you do not have under the present schematic is anything that differentiates your £399 (or £299 if you exclude the backstage bar facility) from someone else's £95, THAT's what the complaint is !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Thanks to gotdablouse for starting this thread.

Have e-mailed to the addresses below asking for a prompt explanation of how the sales description matches the layout provided only AFTER the event was sold out. Once we get some kind of explanation, we can see how to take it further, though it's already obviously fraudulent selling. Whatever they say, there is no way those tickets match these descriptions:

GA Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission
GA Tier 1 – access to the area directly in front of the stage

E-mails sent to:

hospitality@bst-hydepark.com

info@bst-hydepark.com

enquiries@aeglive.co.uk

Tier 2 – access to an area closer to the stage than general admission

Let's see them explain that bit.

Thanks to all those native speakers who find the right words
when mailing those companies.

If the Stones were an airline company, the business and the first class would have the smaller seats.