Ticket company says 'sorry' to kids who missed out on KATSEYE concert

KATSEYE fans who were left disappointed after missing out on a big concert have received an apology and have been promised a refund.

Lots of young pop fans were left upset when they arrived at the venue to find they couldn't get in to see the group's Manchester show on Sunday 6 September.

HelloTickets has admitted that it sold resale tickets to KATSEYE's WildWorld tour without making it clear that the standing area of the Co-op Live arena was for over-16s only.

The ticket site has said they made a mistake and that they would refund the tickets.

The show was part of KATSEYE's WildWorld Tour.

The girl band have been travelling around different countries performing shows, which included two dates in London and one in Manchester.

However there have been lots of reports online and on social media of children missing out on the concert at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester this weekend, as they were turned away for having standing-only tickets that can only be used by older fans.

At many venues, including Co-op Live, standing tickets can only be used by over-16s, and younger fans need to be in the venue's seated areas.

Co-op Live told Newsround that on the tickets bought though official ticketing platforms, this was made clear, and also pointed to adverts on their website and social media.

"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."

However for people using other sites to buy tickets, such as resale tickets (tickets being sold on by someone who no longer wants to go) this info wasn't always clear.

It meant some people bought tickets without understanding these rules and were then disappointed not be allowed in when they got there.

Tickets site HelloTickets has apologised for this and has promised to refund people who bought resale tickets from them.

The company told Newsround: "We gave customers incorrect information about the age restrictions for standing tickets at KATSEYE's Manchester concert.

"We said that under-16s could attend with an adult, but under-16s were not permitted in the standing area, even when accompanied. This was our mistake, and we are sorry to the young fans and families who were turned away."

"We have refunded the affected bookings in full, including all fees. We have also offered affected customers credit towards a future booking equal to the original purchase amount, in addition to their refund.

"We know this cannot make up for missing a concert they were looking forward to."

The statement went on: "We provide age-restriction notices to inform customers about entry requirements. In this case, we failed to distinguish correctly between the requirements for seated and standing tickets."