[B_H_Baggie]

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-warn-lengthy-bans-9507368#ICID=sharebar_twitter

Albion launch crackdown on abuse of discount rates as 24-year-old supporter handed six year ban from The Hawthorns for using Under-18 season ticket

West Bromwich Albion are cracking down on over-age adults using Under-18 season tickets through their automated electronic turnstiles.

One supporter has been handed a six year ban from home games as a result.

Stadium Manager/Safety Officer Mark Miles has warned fraudsters that they risk lengthy bans by trying to get around the system.

He said: “One 24-year-old was coming in on an Under-18 ticket. We clocked him and he has been banned for six years to reflect the six years he was coming in for a cheaper rate.

“There has been an element of some supporters pushing their luck and we will be cracking down on this.”

The supporter concerned did not pay back the difference - hence the ban.

It was acknowledged at the recent Albion Assembly meeting where Miles was a speaker that such supporters were ‘cheating’ other fans.

[B_H_Baggie]

I noticed this in the minutes to the Albion Assembly meeting yesterday and I must say such a clamp down has been a long time in coming. The club have only got themselves to blame for allowing people to get away with it for years but I know a couple that go on cheaper tickets they simply aren't entitled to yet I pay almost double paying the full adult price with most having no valid excuse as they can easily afford to pay what they should.

[Hull Baggie]

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-warn-lengthy-bans-9507368#ICID=sharebar_twitter

Albion launch crackdown on abuse of discount rates as 24-year-old supporter handed six year ban from The Hawthorns for using Under-18 season ticket

West Bromwich Albion are cracking down on over-age adults using Under-18 season tickets through their automated electronic turnstiles.

One supporter has been handed a six year ban from home games as a result.

Stadium Manager/Safety Officer Mark Miles has warned fraudsters that they risk lengthy bans by trying to get around the system.

He said: “One 24-year-old was coming in on an Under-18 ticket. We clocked him and he has been banned for six years to reflect the six years he was coming in for a cheaper rate.

“There has been an element of some supporters pushing their luck and we will be cracking down on this.”

The supporter concerned did not pay back the difference - hence the ban.

It was acknowledged at the recent Albion Assembly meeting where Miles was a speaker that such supporters were ‘cheating’ other fans.

Good.

[bradleysrocket]

Kind of related. Im looking at getting my two lads season tickets this year but cant physically go every week myself. How likely Is it that ,say, my missus would het pulled up for using my card?

[B_H_Baggie]

Kind of related. Im looking at getting my two lads season tickets this year but cant physically go every week myself. How likely Is it that ,say, my missus would het pulled up for using my card?

If its an adult ticket she wont have any issues at all.

[BobTaylor]

I noticed this in the minutes to the Albion Assembly meeting yesterday and I must say such a clamp down has been a long time in coming. The club have only got themselves to blame for allowing people to get away with it for years but I know a couple that go on cheaper tickets they simply aren't entitled to yet I pay almost double paying the full adult price with most having no valid excuse as they can easily afford to pay what they should.

Its a risk if you can get away with it then fair play i personally wouldnt enjoy the games i would always be worried about being refused entry, Dont be mad why let it bother you ? its just one of those things you pay your ticket enjoy the games another runs a risk of being stopped dont see why you should let it cross your mind but thats just me.

Funny old world that weird looking creature from leicester who threw a flare into the smethwick and burnt an albion fans neck while breaching a banning order got a five year ban, I dont trust the system never have done thats why i prefer to stay out of it, 6 year ban would hurt me, love going up the albion when i can not cheap anymore and the football on the whole is pants but not entering my church and missing out on the good results wouldnt be a nice feeling.

Silly question is that home and away or just home games ? serious question im not sure  .

[bradleysrocket]

If its an adult ticket she wont have any issues at all.

Nice one, Cheers for the reply.

[AlbionFan]

I think the club should try and claim money back retrospectively from those individuals they identify for each season they fraudulently took advantage.

[B_H_Baggie]

Silly question is that home and away or just home games ? serious question im not sure  .

Relates mainly to season tickets by the look of it, don't think they care too much about away tickets as it isn't really their problem.

[B_H_Baggie]

I think the club should try and claim money back retrospectively from those individuals they identify for each season they fraudulently took advantage.

In fairness the one case they mentioned at the Assembly meeting it looks like that is exactly what they tried to do but the person refused or simply couldn't afford to do that. Once he couldn't or wouldn't pay the difference they banned him for the amount of time he had been getting away with it, can't say any fairer than that for the club.

One thing I will say is that for someone to get away with doing that for 6 years what were the club playing at letting them do it every season?

[BobTaylor]

In fairness the one case they mentioned at the Assembly meeting it looks like that is exactly what they tried to do but the person refused or simply couldn't afford to do that. Once he couldn't or wouldn't pay the difference they banned him for the amount of time he had been getting away with it, can't say any fairer than that for the club.

One thing I will say is that for someone to get away with doing that for 6 years what were the club playing at letting them do it every season?

Thick as pig rubbish in the ticket office all went downhill after houlty left  .

[AlbionFan]

In fairness the one case they mentioned at the Assembly meeting it looks like that is exactly what they tried to do but the person refused or simply couldn't afford to do that. Once he couldn't or wouldn't pay the difference they banned him for the amount of time he had been getting away with it, can't say any fairer than that for the club.

One thing I will say is that for someone to get away with doing that for 6 years what were the club playing at letting them do it every season?

Fair comment on both counts.

[Nathan]

Thick as pig rubbish in the ticket office all went downhill after houlty left  .

Ha ha!  Forgotten all about that.

[PsalmXXIII]

I do feel the club needs to find a better way of using a season ticket in someone's place that is better than the current system - an elderly supporter near me misses the odd game and so her season ticket sometimes goes unused. On more than one occasion we've tried to swap her season ticket for a full price adult ticket (as the club suggests you do if trying to use a concession's season ticket for someone who isn't a concession) and the ticket office haven't been able to do it on about five occasions. The seat either goes empty for the games she misses, we manage to pay to have the ticket changed or we sometimes risk using it. If we get caught using a concession when the ticket office have told us the can't change it I'll kick off.

[B_H_Baggie]

What is their excuse for not being able to upgrade the ticket sometimes?

[Nathan]

I do feel the club needs to find a better way of using a season ticket in someone's place that is better than the current system - an elderly supporter near me misses the odd game and so her season ticket sometimes goes unused. On more than one occasion we've tried to swap her season ticket for a full price adult ticket (as the club suggests you do if trying to use a concession's season ticket for someone who isn't a concession) and the ticket office haven't been able to do it on about five occasions. The seat either goes empty for the games she misses, we manage to pay to have the ticket changed or we sometimes risk using it. If we get caught using a concession when the ticket office have told us the can't change it I'll kick off.

Yes, the club do certainly need to find ways to actually HELP supporters attend games rather than alienate our fans even further. The club have come across as very dictatorial in this whole episode, I mean a 6 year ban, it's very excessive. You wouldn't even get that for hooliganism like the example BobTaylor mentioned in his earlier post. I know lads who have had 3 year bans for fighting. Still, as we've discussed before, the club don't care less about the traditional support any more. I'm sure this long standing Albion fan's ticket will be taken up by yet another Premier League 'tourist' with a few quid extra in his or her pocket. F**k the Black Country lot, that seems to be the impression the club are giving at the moment.

[B_H_Baggie]

The club have come across as very dictatorial in this whole episode, I mean a 6 year ban, it's very excessive.

I think its very fair, would have been no ban at all had he paid the money he owed the club. Once he couldn't/wouldn't pay what he owed the ban is the number of years he got away with it.

[OldburyWBA]

Seems he was offered the chance to repay the difference, he decided not to hence the ban the same length that he has been getting away with it. Its a risk you take and seems a fair outcome to me.

[The Black Pearl]

I believe a similar system is used for misuse of rail season tickets, they offered the individual the chance to pay back, he did and avoided prosecution.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/13/man-avoids-prosecution-pay-back-43000-train-fares

[PsalmXXIII]

What is their excuse for not being able to upgrade the ticket sometimes?

A couple of times it's been that the system won't let them (so who knows the real reason) and at least once they've said that the ticket had been changed too many times in a season which again I'm not sure is even a rule. Absolutely no idea why they'd put barriers up for us to be honest and give more money for the ticket, but like I said when they've stopped us we have gone ahead and used the spare ticket knowing full well we can back it up saying we tried to do the honest thing.

[Nathan]

Seems he was offered the chance to repay the difference, he decided not to hence the ban the same length that he has been getting away with it. Its a risk you take and seems a fair outcome to me.

The thing is he is being punished for what is essentially the clubs's own fault. OK, so he has got away with it for a few years. The club should have monitored the system better than shouldn't they.
The sensible thing for the club to have done would be to say "OK, you've got away with it, we should have been more diligent, we are on the ball now and you won't be able to get away with it again from now on. You either start paying full price or you don't come".
If it was in a shop and someone had purchased something that was marked up at the wrong price and the shop realised at a later date, they can't ask for the money retrospectively, it is the companies own fault! They should have been more alert to the situation.
Instead of this, the Albion have lost yet another supporter. Like I've said before, when the Premier League/Sky T.V. bubble bursts, we will need these supporters we are now all too easily tossing to one side.

[MarkW]

The thing is he is being punished for what is essentially the clubs's own fault. OK, so he has got away with it for a few years. The club should have monitored the system better than shouldn't they.
The sensible thing for the club to have done would be to say "OK, you've got away with it, we should have been more diligent, we are on the ball now and you won't be able to get away with it again from now on. You either start paying full price or you don't come".
If it was in a shop and someone had purchased something that was marked up at the wrong price and the shop realised at a later date, they can't ask for the money retrospectively, it is the companies own fault! They should have been more alert to the situation.
Instead of this, the Albion have lost yet another supporter. Like I've said before, when the Premier League/Sky T.V. bubble bursts, we will need these supporters we are now all too easily tossing to one side.

Essentially what the fan has done is defrauded the club.

If I was supposed to pay you £300 a year for something, but it turned out I was only paying you £150, you wouldn't turn around and say "Oh I should have noticed, it's fine you've not paid the full amount", you'd want the money you are entitled to.

In addition, it's not at all like the example you've mentioned. He purchased the concession ticket knowing he was too old. In your example it would be like saying the PS4 had a Gameboy sticker on it, and claiming it was the Gameboy price. It clearly isn't meant to cost that, and the customer knows it.

[leeiswba]

Banned for 6 years for getting away without paying probably a grand which is nothing compared to the turnover of the club.

 As Nathan says it's a bit excessive, he maybe couldn't afford adult prices but didn't want to miss it so took a chance. If Albion were doing their jobs properly it wouldn't happen, Albion should just say from now on you pay the full price

[Albionic]

The thing is he is being punished for what is essentially the clubs's own fault. OK, so he has got away with it for a few years. The club should have monitored the system better than shouldn't they.
The sensible thing for the club to have done would be to say "OK, you've got away with it, we should have been more diligent, we are on the ball now and you won't be able to get away with it again from now on. You either start paying full price or you don't come".
If it was in a shop and someone had purchased something that was marked up at the wrong price and the shop realised at a later date, they can't ask for the money retrospectively, it is the companies own fault! They should have been more alert to the situation.
Instead of this, the Albion have lost yet another supporter. Like I've said before, when the Premier League/Sky T.V. bubble bursts, we will need these supporters we are now all too easily tossing to one side.

If it was in a shop and someone had purchased something that was marked up at the wrong price

i think its more akin to someone changing the label and then going to the till to pay the reduced price, fraud pure and simple, deserve what they got IMO

[BobTaylor]

Spot on Nathan.