Families claim they were left out of pocket after young KATSEYE fans were unable to enter the standing area at Co-op Live, with some only discovering the age restriction while queuing outside the venue.
Fans turned away at the door
Natalie Cunningham, from Coventry, spent more than £560 on four tickets through third-party seller Hellotickets so she, her friend and her friend's two daughters could attend what was meant to be the girls' first ever concert. She explained tickets for the September 6 gig sold out almost immediately, leaving her with no choice but to purchase through a third party.
She said: "The girls are massive KATSEYE fans and my friend was like, 'I'd love to take them to their first concert'. The day that they went on sale, they were obviously snapped up by what we assume as bots because they literally went out so quickly.
"We had to go through a third party, Hellotickets, and we thought, well, we'll pay a little bit more because it's the girls' first concert."At point of sale, nothing popped up to say age restricted, you are buying standing tickets."
The group joined the queue at around 3.15pm, only to be stopped by staff and informed that under-16s were not permitted in the standing area. Natalie continued: "They're like, well, it has to be 16 from the floor,"
Third-party purchase complications
The Manchester Evening News reports Natalie and her friend were directed to Fan Services. She also got in touch with Hellotickets, which she claims told her the age restriction was her responsibility and that she ought to have checked with the venue prior to purchasing.
At the Co-Op Live, Natalie said staff informed her they were unable to assist as the tickets had been purchased through a third party. She said: "We tried it twice. They said, 'It's third party, we can't do anything about it.'"
The group ultimately left without seeing the concert, with Natalie estimating around 500 people were gathered outside the ticket office attempting to resolve similar problems. She said: "[My friend's] youngest was crying all the way home. So yeah, it was horrible for the girls. It's really horrible."
Ticketmaster warning came too late
Bart Dom paid £300 for tickets directly through Ticketmaster in May for himself and his 11 year old daughter. He said Ticketmaster only emailed him three days before the concert to warn under-16s could not stand in the relevant area and advised customers to contact customer services to change their tickets.
He said he followed staff instructions but was confronted with lengthy queues. But he claims that after an hour and a half of queueing he was handed a ticket number and directed to another queue. He continued: "And within an hour of queueing, we didn't move at all. I looked from that queue, I couldn't see the end. It was like 15 minutes till the venue starts."
Bart then said a member of staff used a megaphone to announce under-16s would not be permitted into the standing area. He said: "People start shouting, whistling, crying and start walking away. I think they should notify people when they book the tickets about, you know, the restrictions.
"We've not been informed about it at all. It's so bad. I don't think it should be running like this."
Families demand refunds
For some families, the outcome meant not only losing hundreds of pounds but also young fans being denied their first opportunity to see KATSEYE perform live.
Posting on their TikTok, fellow concert-goer Sophie Parkes said they had been sold general admission tickets and "nowhere did it say anything about the under-16 restriction until this week". In footage shared online, a member of Co-Op Live staff addressed waiting fans through a megaphone, explaining the process for lodging complaints about the evening's events.
Sophie noted that while some staff members were genuinely helpful, "others were just really rude. One member of staff told me they were aware of the situation, had had a meeting about it that morning and had reserved loads of seats". They were subsequently told to join the queue. Having queued, they were then informed the seats were sold out. They added: "I know a girl who was inside, and she said there were loads of under-16s who had managed to get into the standing area, as well as loads of empty seats."
Julie Petereit's son and daughter-in-law bought tickets through Viagogo. She said: "The tickets were for the standing area, which is strictly for those aged 16 and over. This crucial information was not made clear at the point of purchase.
"In fact, the advertisement was dangerously contradictory, stating both 'standing only under fifteens accompanied by an adult' and 'no under sixteens in the floor standing area.' Receipt for payment says nothing about age and the final invoice mentions only in the small print."
Her eight year old granddaughter was left "in tears" at the gates of the Co-Op Live, her birthday celebration "ruined". Julie continued: "My granddaughter deserved better. All children deserve better. I am asking that the tickets be refunded and compensation paid for the wasted journey."
Stuart Hutchinson and his wife brought their 12 year old son to the Co-Op Live, making the trip from Newcastle for his very first concert. The couple said they noticed the age restrictions only after booking their tickets, adding that during the booking process it was written in small print on Ticketmaster after they went back to check.
Arriving at the Co-Op at 3pm, they approached a member of staff to ask whether they should go directly to Fan Services, but were advised to join the queue at one of the entrances instead. They were subsequently refused entry and sent back to Fan Services, despite having received prior reassurance from a staff member.
After being given a number, they waited for more than two hours and with KATSEYE already on the stage, it was just before 9pm that they were told nobody waiting would be allowed in. They said: "There was a family next to us from Dublin, another from Romania. The children were just crying, breaking their hearts."
They continued: "The money isn't the issue. It was his first concert and he loved KATSEYE but you just can't replace that experience."
A spokesperson from Co-Op Live said: "As standard, the venue's standing floor area is restricted to guests aged 16 and over. This information was included within the event terms and conditions at the time of purchase through official ticketing platforms.
"On the night, our team worked to support any affected guests and, where seats were available, offered alternative seated tickets. Unfortunately, seating capacity was limited and we were not able to accommodate everyone."
Hellotickets, Viagogo and Ticketmaster have been approached for comment.
