February 9, 2022 1.04 pm This story is over 25 months old

Customers demand refunds as company promoting Showground events goes under

Ticket holders have been told they’ll be contacted via email for a refund
Pop band McFly were supposed to play at the Lincolnshire Showground, but the promotions firm has since gone under.
By Local Democracy Reporter

Customers say they are having ‘issues’ getting their money back after a company promoting two summer events at the Lincolnshire Showground ceased trading, forcing the shows to be cancelled.

M&B Promotions was organiser for the Comedy in the Park event, which would have seen the likes of John Bishop, Rob Beckett and Al Murray come to the Lincolnshire Showground on July 9, but the show was shelved after the company announced it would be ceasing trading.

As well as this, M&B were organising a live gig from pop band McFly, due to take place at the showground the day before Comedy in the Park, but that has also been cancelled.

Headline act John Bishop, along with Russell Kane, Al Murray, Rob Beckett and other comedians, were due to perform at Lincolnshire Showground. | Photo: Comedy in the Park

An email sent out to customers on Tuesday confirmed the events were cancelled, stating it was “with a heavy heart and deep regret” to announce both M&B Promotions and its ticket platform Simple Ticketing would be ending business operations.

A statement sent to ticket buyers reads: “It is with a heavy heart and deep regret that we must announce the cancellation of all of our scheduled events, and the end of operations for M&B Promotions Ltd and our ticket platform Simple Ticketing Ltd.

“We were amongst many high-profile event organisers forced to reschedule many events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, this combined with the extreme logistical and financial setbacks caused by the pandemic mean it’s no longer viable for us to continue trading.”

That same statement now appears on the M&B Promotions website, while its Instagram and Twitter accounts have been deleted, with no form of communication available on the website’s home page.

A number of M&B Promotions’ social media channels have been deleted.

According to Companies House, M&B Promotions, which is based in Coventry, changed directors in May 2021, with Melissa Austin resigning and being replaced by Pamela Murray.

M&B says ticket holders for any of these cancelled events should contact Paypal for a refund if they bought tickets via easyticketing.co.uk, or their bank/credit card provider to administer a charge back. Anyone who bought tickets elsewhere is being told to contact their point of purchase.

Despite this, a number of ticket holders are fearing they may never get their money back, due to a Paypal policy that makes refunds not applicable after 180 days.

Two readers of The Lincolnite, Sylvia Richardson and Andy Fox, have both got in touch to say Paypal is telling customers to contact their bank to raise a complaint, leaving some with fears they may not see that money again.

Sylvia said: “When I contacted Paypal they said they would not refund as it was past their 180 day policy and that I would need to go through my bank instead and they would have to raise a complaint.

“I was absolutely horrified that they had this attitude especially as the put backs due to COVID-19 and cancellation was none of my fault. So for Easy Ticketing to advise people to go through PayPal is rubbish unless they didn’t purchase when the tickets were originally released last March.”

As for Andy, he said: “The actual transaction doesn’t even appear on my Paypal history as the company have been very clever and just used Paypal as a vendor.

“Now they have gone into liquidation it seems to be leaving a lot of people out of pocket.”

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Bosses at the Lincolnshire Showground say they were only made aware of M&B Promotions folding on Tuesday, and have said they are “deeply disappointed” by the news.

A spokesperson for the showground said: “The Lincolnshire Showground have received communication that the McFly and Comedy in the Park shows, due to take place on Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9, 2022 have been cancelled.

“We were informed by the concert promoters M & B Promotions yesterday (Tuesday, February 8, 2022), that they have ceased trading due to extreme logistical and financial setbacks caused by the pandemic.

“We have been notified that all ticket buyers will receive email communication with details of how to obtain their refund.”

Rory Graham, better known as Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, will be performing at Lincolnshire Showground next July. | Photo: Sliding Doors Publicity

The showground has confirmed these two event cancellations will not affect the other planned events at the venue, including Rag ‘n’ Bone Man on July 3 and Paul Weller on July 2.

The spokesperson continued: “M&B Promotions have no connection with the three concerts that we have lined up for this Summer – Rag’n’Bone Man, Simply Red and Paul Weller. We look forward to welcoming these artists to Lincoln in July.

“On behalf of the Lincolnshire Showground we would like to express how deeply disappointed we are to receive this news.”

Similar instances have been reported across the country, with Wicksteed Park gigs in Northamptonshire announcing numerous gigs arranged by M&B Promotions would also be cancelled.

According to the Northamptonshire Telegraph, Wicksteed Park said it did not receive any money from M&B Promotions before the firm went into liquidation, despite numerous attempts to contact the business.