Ticketing company Skiddle is refunding customers of the shambolic Hope & Glory Festival out of its own pocket after receiving a "complete lack of cooperation" from the event's organisers.
The Liverpool festival, staged by promoter Lee O’Hanlon of events company Tiny Cow, was scheduled for August 5-6, but was cancelled on the morning of its second day.
Festival-goers having complained of delays, lengthy queues and overcrowding on the opening day and a subsequent statement from organisers cited health and safety reasons for the cancellation.
Preston-based Skiddle is now offering all customers for the Sunday a full refund, with a 50% refund for weekend ticket holders after repeated attempts to contact organisers were unsuccessful.
"Since our last update on Tuesday evening, we have been awaiting approval for refunds from the directors of Hope and Glory Festivals Ltd," said an email to festival-goers from Skiddle directors Ben Sebborn and Richard Dyer.
"Despite multiple emails and attempted phone calls, we have had no response. In light of this complete lack of cooperation, we feel it is in everyone's interest to advise our customers that refunds from the event organisers will not now be happening.
"As Skiddle's mission is to put the customer first, we feel that this behaviour from the event organiser is completely unacceptable and have been using every resource possible to avoid this situation. Skiddle did not have any involvement in the organisation of the event and all funds remain with the event organiser.
"However, we do not wish to leave our customers out of pocket. As such we have today been putting steps in place to facilitate refunds from Skiddle's own funding. This decision is far from usual procedure, but we feel that it is the right outcome for our customers in this terrible situation.
"We will be offering all Sunday ticket purchasers a full refund and a 50% refund to cover weekend ticket holders who couldn't attend the Sunday. We aim to have refunds processed within 7-10 days."
The statement added: "On a final note, we have already terminated our contract with Hope and Glory Festivals Ltd, and will not be working with either of the festival directors in the future. We are also reviewing our business policies across all departments to reduce the risk of such an occurrence happening again."
