Coldplay fan wins case against Ticketmaster after 'disaster' Croke Park gig

Tom Tuite

A judge has ordered Ticketmaster to fully refund a furious Coldplay fan who ended up crouching in "restricted view" seats, unable to see the band during their sell-out Croke Park concert last year.

When the chart-toppers with hits Fix You and Yellow announced they were bringing their Music of the Spheres world tour to Dublin, James McGetrick thought he "hit the jackpot" but it became a "disaster".

Dublin District Court heard he scooped pre-sale tickets to go to the gig with his wife on August 29th, but on the night, they were forced to "crouch down" on their seats near the back of the lower Hogan Stand to see Chris Martin's performance.

McGetrick took a small claims case against the Ticketline Unlimited Company, trading as Ticketmaster.

He told Judge Peter White they bought tickets released through the artist pre-sale well ahead of the general public.

He shelled out €332 for two seats on the lower Hogan Stand.

On the day of the concert, they were directed to the fourth row from the back of the stand. He explained that the Coldplay stage was "quite elevated" for the people standing on the pitch.

He described how he and his wife could not see the band from their seats.

All the people in front stood, and they had to, in turn, stand to see over their heads. McGetrick explained that the overhang from the upper Hogan Stand also hindered their view.

Stewards 'more interested' in watching concert

As the concert went on, people in the seats behind them, who had an even worse view, began to fill the aisle.

After seven or eight songs, he and three girls from the row in front of him approached a steward.

He alleged they were more interested in the concert, had not looked back, and were not policing anything.

McGetrick, of Corrib Road, Terenure, Dublin 6, said the stewards then went back up the stand with them and told everyone in the aisles to return to their seats.

That turned bad, he said, because "all those people who were sent back to the seats started to blame myself, now they could not see anything as well".

The atmosphere turned unpleasant, and "popcorn and litter was being thrown at us, it was just terrible".

The next day, he complained to Ticketmaster, and the company told him to contact the promoter, MCD.

The whole thing was a disaster.

Originally filing his small claim action against MCD, the District Court ruled he should have brought it against Ticketmaster instead.

So, he started the process again with the ticket site, which he said was "just pawning me off", and he lodged a fresh action in the court against them.

The firm eventually offered just €190, but McGetrick persisted with his case, seeking the full amount he paid for the tickets.

He stressed that when he bought them, it was never stated that there was a restricted view, and he thought the seats would be better because he got the tickets via the artist pre-sale option.

"The whole thing was a disaster," he told the court.

Noting that Ticketmaster did not attend the hearing to contest the action, and the account of the experience and evidence of the purchase, Judge White granted a decree in favour of McGetrick.