Several fans have said it has been an “impossible task” to buy available Oasis tickets for a show in London and have reportedly called Wembley Stadium “thousands of times” in vain. Frances Mobbs, 67, said she wanted to get four tickets for her son Nick Mobbs, 41, his carer and two family members for the Wembley show on July 26, but couldn’t get through.
Tickets went on sale at 09.00 today (Saturday, August 31) and Oasis fans in need of available tickets were urged to call a telephone number for the Wembley concerts. Ms Mobbs said she called the number thousands of times over two hours when the phone lines were opened after sending through supporting documents.
She told the PA news agency: “My son has been a fan from day one, like millions of other people we’re obviously trying to get tickets. I know I’m one of thousands and thousands and thousands of people but there’s a dedicated phone line that’s constantly is connected or says we can’t complete your call.
“I’ve been calling for two hours, I’m on repeat and repeat. It’s frustrating, totally and utterly frustrating.” Nick is a paraplegic and has spina bifida and hydrocephalus for which he had surgery this year.Seeing Oasis is a “bucket list thing,” which would mean “everything” to the family, Mobbs said.
She added: “He can’t walk in the crowd, he’s in a wheelchair. It’s just disappointing that there isn’t a separate page online.” In her despair, she remarked that getting tickets available for Wembley was “probably an impossible task at the end of the day.”
“Other places aren’t that hard. You can’t get through’
Another fan named Martin, who did not give his last name, told PA he called the number more than 15,000 times on Saturday to get a ticket available for him and his wife Sarah, 31, who has a spinal condition and fibromyalgia. Martin, 35, an engineer, from Newcastle upon Tyne, tried to get tickets for Taylor Swift and Oasis at Wembley.
He said: “Other places aren’t that hard. You can’t get through them and it was the same for Taylor Swift. I’ve hit recall 1,531 times.
“There is no reason why you should be treated any differently to someone who gets standard tickets, but unfortunately it has become more difficult. It’s quite frustrating and disappointing, my wife feels like a third class citizen. Accessibility is about being equal and not being disadvantaged.”
“This is insulting”
Mark Pithers, 56, also tried to call Wembley over two thousand times today in the hope of getting available tickets. He said: “It’s just crazy. I need a wheelchair space, I have hip problems that mean I can’t walk very far.
“I know space is limited, but to only have it on a phone line seems crazy to me and deeply unfair. I’ve called back 2,000 times since 9am. You get a message saying it’s busy or something is there one that says we can’t complete your call or sorry but the caller is on another line.
“I understand that venues like to keep accessible tickets in-house because it’s a lot easier for them to make sure people are disabled, and in my case I’m getting a ticket for a companion, but surely they could create a dedicated website. Nobody wants to be in the position disabled people are in so to have this is really insulting, we are treated like this and expected to keep calling and calling again hoping we are lucky enough to get through.
What did Wembley say?
A Wembley Stadium spokesman said: “The demand for accessibility tickets for Oasis Live’ 25 has been unprecedented. Unfortunately this has resulted in longer than normal waiting times. For those customers who cannot wait on the phone we have a call back system in place which enables users to submit their details and wait for a response from our customer service.”
The only telephone service is in place for Wembley Stadium to understand fans’ needs and check proof of eligibility, the PA news agency said.
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