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The rising cost of being a disabled supporter of OAFC


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I  feel the pricing structure that the club have introduced for disabled supporters of the club is nothing short of a disgrace. For the 2018/19 season a season ticket was priced at £180 and this allowed for a carer to accompany the supporter free of charge and a car park pass was issued to allow access to the clubs car parks. The club have now decided to raise the price of the season ticket for the upcoming season to £270 which basically comes into line with other tickets. This was a large increase to take in one go but even though the future of the club is up in the air I renewed my ticket. Now we are greeted with the news that the club want to charge £100 for the car park pass !!!! The excuse they are peddling out looks to be they are falling into line of other efl clubs. Do they honestly think that bumping up the overall cost from £180 to £370 is reasonable ?

Many disabled supporters do not have the ability to park elsewhere away from the ground like b and q or the hospital car parks, we need to be close to the ground and I honestly feel like this latest move is one step to far.

 

What is the situation regarding gaining a refund on my season ticket that I have bought ? I am seriously thinking about giving up on all this after the best part of 40 years at BP.

 

 

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Email Billy in the ticket office and voice your concerns. He usually answers quickly and will be able to sort it or at least explain reasons for the increase. Also, If you want a refund he’s your man.

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7 hours ago, drphibes said:

I  feel the pricing structure that the club have introduced for disabled supporters of the club is nothing short of a disgrace. For the 2018/19 season a season ticket was priced at £180 and this allowed for a carer to accompany the supporter free of charge and a car park pass was issued to allow access to the clubs car parks. The club have now decided to raise the price of the season ticket for the upcoming season to £270 which basically comes into line with other tickets. This was a large increase to take in one go but even though the future of the club is up in the air I renewed my ticket. Now we are greeted with the news that the club want to charge £100 for the car park pass !!!! The excuse they are peddling out looks to be they are falling into line of other efl clubs. Do they honestly think that bumping up the overall cost from £180 to £370 is reasonable ?

Many disabled supporters do not have the ability to park elsewhere away from the ground like b and q or the hospital car parks, we need to be close to the ground and I honestly feel like this latest move is one step to far.

 

What is the situation regarding gaining a refund on my season ticket that I have bought ? I am seriously thinking about giving up on all this after the best part of 40 years at BP.

 

 

 

You should be able to get a refund if you want, the ticket office are pretty reasonable. Saw this post earlier from a friend on Facebook, seems like you’re not the only one - 

 

“I've been going to latics for 20+ years and last season I had to change to  a disabled season ticket and my mum came with me as a free carer, I had to show proof with my certificate of DLA showed it and got it sorted, just been to renew my ticket and have been told because I'm not on the higher band I'm not entitled to a carers ticket for my mum. Basically rapid progressive severe multiple sclerosis is not enough of a disability for the EFL and Oldham Athletic to allow my mother a carers ticket and i can't get the seat at the back of the RRE even though last season there was no issue. The only time I ever really get out proper is going to latics games and now I cant even do the so a big thanks to EFL and Latics for taking something I enjoy away from me.”

 

Try Level Playing Field if you get nowhere. https://www.levelplayingfield.org.uk/support-information/your-rights/ I

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8 hours ago, drphibes said:

I  feel the pricing structure that the club have introduced for disabled supporters of the club is nothing short of a disgrace. For the 2018/19 season a season ticket was priced at £180 and this allowed for a carer to accompany the supporter free of charge and a car park pass was issued to allow access to the clubs car parks. The club have now decided to raise the price of the season ticket for the upcoming season to £270 which basically comes into line with other tickets. This was a large increase to take in one go but even though the future of the club is up in the air I renewed my ticket. Now we are greeted with the news that the club want to charge £100 for the car park pass !!!! The excuse they are peddling out looks to be they are falling into line of other efl clubs. Do they honestly think that bumping up the overall cost from £180 to £370 is reasonable ?

Many disabled supporters do not have the ability to park elsewhere away from the ground like b and q or the hospital car parks, we need to be close to the ground and I honestly feel like this latest move is one step to far.

 

What is the situation regarding gaining a refund on my season ticket that I have bought ? I am seriously thinking about giving up on all this after the best part of 40 years at BP.

 

 

 

Hi,

 

I’m the Ticket Office Manager at Oldham and you’re fully entitled to a refund. If you want to discuss the reasons for the price increases then I’d be more than happy to over the phone or via email. 

 

Thanks

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57 minutes ago, OAFCBilly said:

 

Hi,

 

I’m the Ticket Office Manager at Oldham and you’re fully entitled to a refund. If you want to discuss the reasons for the price increases then I’d be more than happy to over the phone or via email. 

 

Thanks

As always Billy, kudos to you for another prompt response.

 

Given all that has gone on in recent times and the negative publicity that has surrounded the club, I cannot help but feel that this price increase is a huge own goal. The additional income that this ‘initiative’ will generate surely cannot offset the bad feelings that it has already instigated?

 

The club is part of the community and this does nothing to strengthen that bond - I would urge the club to consider reversing this decision. 

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I go to the game with my Grandma who is disabled and therefore when I am with her we park in the disabled spaces. Obviously it goes without saying that these spaces are needed and justified. But what we always agree on is, why because you are disabled should you not have to pay for car parking like everyone else ? She mentioned it every-time we go that it should not be the case that parking is free because you are disabled. 

Just our opinion but I agree with her. 

 

In terms of the actual ticket price, yeah that is out of order. 

Edited by LightDN123
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4 hours ago, OAFCBilly said:

 

Hi,

 

I’m the Ticket Office Manager at Oldham and you’re fully entitled to a refund. If you want to discuss the reasons for the price increases then I’d be more than happy to over the phone or via email. 

 

Thanks

 

 

What is the best email address to discuss this with you Billy? 

 

Thanks 

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2 hours ago, deyres42 said:

Killing the club if you don't pay it.

 

I have payed more than enough over the years thanks following the club. I don't live in Oldham and with travel costs I'm looking at over £500 for next season with the parking cost. 

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A lot of disabled people (like myself) will buy a season ticket to support the club, knowing full well that I'll probably miss 10 or so games either because the weather is too inclement or through illness. Nobody's fault, but it's that sort of thing that gets factored into our thinking. There's no way I can manage on my own now, so a carer would be essential. Again, nobody's fault/issue.

 

I'd willingly swap my disability out day-to-day and pay for a full-price ticket - anybody want to take up the offer (tongue firmly in cheek)?

 

Just my 2p worth.

WhatsApp Image 2019-05-30 at 13.37.30.jpeg

Edited by addigital
Our kid just received this from ticket office
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5 hours ago, LightDN123 said:

I go to the game with my Grandma who is disabled and therefore when I am with her we park in the disabled spaces. Obviously it goes without saying that these spaces are needed and justified. But what we always agree on is, why because you are disabled should you not have to pay for car parking like everyone else ? She mentioned it every-time we go that it should not be the case that parking is free because you are disabled. 

Just our opinion but I agree with her. 

 

In terms of the actual ticket price, yeah that is out of order. 

Other people can park anywhere though and walk to the ground.  That's not an option for many disabled supporters, so they have no choice but to pay extra if the clubs adopts the stance it has, which makes the cost prohibitive for some who likely have a lower income than most due to their disability.

 

More than doubling the overall cost for a supporter who needs to park at the ground, on account of their disability, is a bloody shoddy move.

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14 minutes ago, Stevie_J said:

Other people can park anywhere though and walk to the ground.  That's not an option for many disabled supporters, so they have no choice but to pay extra if the clubs adopts the stance it has, which makes the cost prohibitive for some who likely have a lower income than most due to their disability.

 

More than doubling the overall cost for a supporter who needs to park at the ground, on account of their disability, is a bloody shoddy move.

I understand but you are coming to the stadium to watch Oldham Athletic, you shouldn’t park on locations like B&Q with this intention its prohibited. Surely if you are going to watch Oldham you expect to use car parks provided by the club. 

 

Yeah I agree increasing the standard ticket price and the carer situation is a poor move. 

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For all those affected or know people affected by the price rises the 'former' disability policy and contact details for the Disability SLO are available via https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/club/disability-policy/

 

It does seem very odd that the increase has happened seemingly without notice and to such an extent this year. However, I think it is a sign of the times. 

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6 hours ago, LightDN123 said:

I understand but you are coming to the stadium to watch Oldham Athletic, you shouldn’t park on locations like B&Q with this intention its prohibited. Surely if you are going to watch Oldham you expect to use car parks provided by the club. 

 

Yeah I agree increasing the standard ticket price and the carer situation is a poor move. 

???

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4 hours ago, rudemedic said:

For all those affected or know people affected by the price rises the 'former' disability policy and contact details for the Disability SLO are available via https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/club/disability-policy/

 

It does seem very odd that the increase has happened seemingly without notice and to such an extent this year. However, I think it is a sign of the times. 

 

In theory this is a good suggestion but history tells me that the Disability liason officer post at Latics is just there to tick a box so the club can conform to set standards.

I spoke to Ron Cassidy on many occasions when he volunteered for the post, the club made the job for him practically impossible and he would often find out about various things only when he arrived at the club on a matchday. They basically sent Ron out to get the flak for the decisions that they made and he really had no influence on things that they implemented.

 

I have received and explanation from Billy ( Thanks for getting back to me Billy) today on why the club feel they need to bring these extra charges in and to be honest there are some things written on the explanation that are totally wrong.

I am told that the disabled fans have basically the same facilities as an able bodied supporter and therefore the season tickets would be sold at an equal price so the club did not actually discriminate against able bodied supporters. Putting it simply we do not have the same facilities to use, the Joe Royle stand has 5-6 wheelchair bays that offer cover and a good view of the game. An able bodied fan can choose to sit in hundreds of seats at various positions in the stand that he or she might like. No option of sitting in the main stand if a wheelchair user wanted to sit there, for obvious reasons. Compromised views at the back of the Frizzell stand if the stand ever gets full ( yes i know that hardly ever happens 🙂 ) .

Finally the fact that the email informed me that in previous years I had saved x amount of pounds really came  across to me that I should be grateful for the club being so generous and in a nutshell if I didnt like the new prices I could lump it and get a refund.

 

Am I still a supporter of Latics ? Of course I am , but this episode has really shown me just how much the club have dropped the customer care aspect and just gone chasing the £££££

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