Just Had E-mail From Club Ref.

[havanatopia]

must admit having skimmed this forum for months before joining, NTTDS was a member I found slightly eccentric at times (no offence mate!) but he is onto something here, this is a disgrace by the Preston lot, whether it is within the rules or not, whether coming by car, train or coach the away fans from City will end up paying probably over double what the Preston fans will for their match-day, this coupled with a £4 hike on ticket charges! It's a sham and Preston are a disgrace to the Football League for taking this approach, in my opinion.

Saying that - I will be there!

we'll have the last laugh though.

[Never to the dark side]

Sadly dark side(and City fans) has lost the war

SO A REQUEST TO THE MODS TO ALLOW THIS TO POSTING TO

REMAIN ON ITS OWN FOR AFEW FOR A FEW HOURS

BEFORE IT IS MERGED INTO MY TWO OTHER PRESTON TICKET POSTINGS

John

As you are aware Preston North End introduced a membership scheme which entitled members to a reduction on tickets purchased in advance. Whilst this did not contravene regulations, it was not considered to be within the spirit of the regulations, and the matter was taken up with Preston North End.

As the tickets for the Bristol City game were aleeady on sale they were unable to cancel the existing arrangements. We appreciate this will come as little consolation to Bristol City supporters but can assure you that the club will not be continuing with this practice.

Patricia

[SE23Red]

Sadly dark side(and City fans) has lost the war

SO A REQUEST TO THE MODS TO ALLOW THIS TO POSTING TO

REMAIN ON ITS OWN FOR AFEW FOR A FEW HOURS

BEFORE IT IS MERGED INTO MY TWO OTHER PRESTON TICKET POSTINGS

John

As you are aware Preston North End introduced a membership scheme which entitled members to a reduction on tickets purchased in advance. Whilst this did not contravene regulations, it was not considered to be within the spirit of the regulations, and the matter was taken up with Preston North End.

As the tickets for the Bristol City game were aleeady on sale they were unable to cancel the existing arrangements. We appreciate this will come as little consolation to Bristol City supporters but can assure you that the club will not be continuing with this practice.

Patricia

It will be interesting to see what 'not continuing with this practice' will involve. Don't be surprised to find thousands of unhappy Preston fans on your doorstep in a couple of weeks.

[Dolman Block B]

Sadly dark side(and City fans) has lost the war

SO A REQUEST TO THE MODS TO ALLOW THIS TO POSTING TO

REMAIN ON ITS OWN FOR AFEW FOR A FEW HOURS

BEFORE IT IS MERGED INTO MY TWO OTHER PRESTON TICKET POSTINGS

John

As you are aware Preston North End introduced a membership scheme which entitled members to a reduction on tickets purchased in advance. Whilst this did not contravene regulations, it was not considered to be within the spirit of the regulations, and the matter was taken up with Preston North End.

As the tickets for the Bristol City game were aleeady on sale they were unable to cancel the existing arrangements. We appreciate this will come as little consolation to Bristol City supporters but can assure you that the club will not be continuing with this practice.

Patricia

John (never to the dark side) is Patricia Chinese?.........."Aleeady".....(well i laughed)...Arn

[OC 1645]

Sadly dark side(and City fans) has lost the war

SO A REQUEST TO THE MODS TO ALLOW THIS TO POSTING TO

REMAIN ON ITS OWN FOR AFEW FOR A FEW HOURS

BEFORE IT IS MERGED INTO MY TWO OTHER PRESTON TICKET POSTINGS

John

As you are aware Preston North End introduced a membership scheme which entitled members to a reduction on tickets purchased in advance. Whilst this did not contravene regulations, it was not considered to be within the spirit of the regulations, and the matter was taken up with Preston North End.

As the tickets for the Bristol City game were aleeady on sale they were unable to cancel the existing arrangements. We appreciate this will come as little consolation to Bristol City supporters but can assure you that the club will not be continuing with this practice.

Patricia

You've merely lost a battle not the war.

Keep up the good work.

[Guest DanC]

Sadly dark side(and City fans) has lost the war

SO A REQUEST TO THE MODS TO ALLOW THIS TO POSTING TO

REMAIN ON ITS OWN FOR AFEW FOR A FEW HOURS

BEFORE IT IS MERGED INTO MY TWO OTHER PRESTON TICKET POSTINGS

John

As you are aware Preston North End introduced a membership scheme which entitled members to a reduction on tickets purchased in advance. Whilst this did not contravene regulations, it was not considered to be within the spirit of the regulations, and the matter was taken up with Preston North End.

As the tickets for the Bristol City game were aleeady on sale they were unable to cancel the existing arrangements. We appreciate this will come as little consolation to Bristol City supporters but can assure you that the club will not be continuing with this practice.

Patricia

Fair play to you Dark Side. I always thought this was wrong and I'm glad Preston will no longer be able to fleece away fans' I hope you continue to follow this up Dark Side.

As I see it hey have two options, Cancel the membership scheme and refund those that have already joined. Or charge away fans' the same as they charge the home fans that have the membership.

[Henry]

Take a bow, son.

[Dolman Block B]

Fair play to the Darkside for his persistence!!!!

Nice one cocker!

[Ricky BCFC]

Sadly dark side(and City fans) has lost the war

SO A REQUEST TO THE MODS TO ALLOW THIS TO POSTING TO

REMAIN ON ITS OWN FOR AFEW FOR A FEW HOURS

BEFORE IT IS MERGED INTO MY TWO OTHER PRESTON TICKET POSTINGS

John

As you are aware Preston North End introduced a membership scheme which entitled members to a reduction on tickets purchased in advance. Whilst this did not contravene regulations, it was not considered to be within the spirit of the regulations, and the matter was taken up with Preston North End.

As the tickets for the Bristol City game were aleeady on sale they were unable to cancel the existing arrangements. We appreciate this will come as little consolation to Bristol City supporters but can assure you that the club will not be continuing with this practice.

Patricia

Good to see they won't be getting away with it anymore. Good work.

[Nibor]

Good job NTTDS. I wonder whether whether Preston will reduce the prices or whether they will refund the £ to their members...

[Never to the dark side]

prestons football charter

http://www.pnefc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Club...,,10362,00.html

have a look nearly to the bottom

Can some one do a cut copy and paste

Thanks

[Nibor]

prestons football charter

http://www.pnefc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Club...,,10362,00.html

have a look nearly to the bottom

Can some one do a cut copy and paste

Thanks

Accommodating Away Supporters

Preston North End FC abides by Football League Regulations governing the allocation of tickets to visiting clubs.

Preston North End FC does not charge admission prices to supporters of a visiting club which are higher than those charged to home supporters for comparable accommodation. In particular, our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens, students and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting club.

Bloody liars.

[edson]

NTTDS - If you feel telling them that their practice is going to be published on an independent BCFC website might help, then I'm more than willing to give it coverage on bristolcitynet.co.uk

Let me know if you feel it's worth pushing any further, in light of their mission statement.

[Chivs]

Looks like a great result for NTTDS. Well done.

Nevertheless, BCFC supporters aren't gaining anything so I suggest that NTTDS contacts the next visiting club to PNE to ensure that PNE don't forget their promise.

Not that I think they would...

[Bristol Boy]

Good job NTTDS. I wonder whether whether Preston will reduce the prices or whether they will refund the £ to their members...

And if the do JT will be out in The Supermarket again and Liam Fontaine will score

Well doen John, now let's start working on the City with the stealth charges!!

[Barry]

Accommodating Away Supporters

Preston North End FC abides by Football League Regulations governing the allocation of tickets to visiting clubs.

Preston North End FC does not charge admission prices to supporters of a visiting club which are higher than those charged to home supporters for comparable accommodation. In particular, our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens, students and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting club.

Bloody liars.

what i find most annoying is the ticket categories for home fans are different aswell...........

i cannot buy a 'student' ticket whilst a home fan can!!

why should this be allowed???

it is discracefull!!

[WhistleHappy]

well done NTDS.....

If PNE's about turn results in all away fans to their ground making an average 4quid saving -it'd be interesting to keep a tally of how many fans visit them for the rest of the season & calculate how much you (NTDS) have saved fellow football fans!

Surely it'll run into tens of thousands - a significant victory for the ordinary fan against this countries money grabbing, rip-off merchant, professional football cash cow, at last!!! .....or will they just charge their own fans more? -we'll see.

[PhatWill]

Great effort, well done NTTDS.

[Blagdon red]

what i find most annoying is the ticket categories for home fans are different aswell...........

i cannot buy a 'student' ticket whilst a home fan can!!

why should this be allowed???

it is discracefull!!

It's another part of their fiddle ... they only offer student prices to 'members'!

Curiously, the price City are quoting for 'young adults' (15-17), i.e. £13, is £1 BELOW what PNE quote on their site for young adult members! The non-members price is £18.

Anyway, well done to NTTDS for blowing the lid on this rip-off!

[Blagdon red]

Following on from NTTDS's excellent work on this matter, I have discussed this with Thatcham Red (the Supporters Trust chairman) and written to the PNE general manager on behalf of the Trust seeking some gesture of recompense for all City fans who have overpaid for tickets for this game. Getting a refund of the difference may be unrealistic - and logistically difficult - but we have asked for a gesture of goodwill from Preston in the form of a free match programme on admission to the ground for all City fans. Let's see how they respond!

Here's what was sent:

FAO Mr Ben Rhodes

I note in your club's customer charter that you state that Preston North End 'abides by Football League Regulations' and 'does not charge admission prices to supporters of a visiting club which are higher than those charged to home supporters for comparable accommodation. In particular, our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens, students and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting club.'

The club is clearly in breach of this commitment.

I note that further to pressure from a Bristol City fan and contact from the Football League, your club has decided to discontinue its policy of 'non-member' pricing for away fans.

That is to be welcomed. It does not, however, alter the fact that several hundred Bristol City fans attending the match on Saturday have paid more than they should have if your club had been adhering to 'the spirit' of the Football League regulations. In particular, you state specifically in your charter that concessions for students are available to away fans, when in fact they are not. Students attending Saturday's game have therefore had to pay the full adult 'non-member' price of £25.

I recognise that it would be a logistical nightmare to arrange financial reimbursement to all those fans who have been charged the higher prices for Saturday's game. As a gesture of Preston North End's goodwill, however, may I call on you to hand out a free programme to all Bristol City fans attending the match. This would clearly cost the club a lot less than the reimbursements that are morally due, but would at least show the City fans that you recognise a wrong was done and wish to make amends.

I look forward to receiving your response.

[giles_23_bcfc]

Following on from NTTDS's excellent work on this matter, I have discussed this with Thatcham Red (the Supporters Trust chairman) and written to the PNE general manager on behalf of the Trust seeking some gesture of recompense for all City fans who have overpaid for tickets for this game. Getting a refund of the difference may be unrealistic - and logistically difficult - but we have asked for a gesture of goodwill from Preston in the form of a free match programme on admission to the ground for all City fans. Let's see how they respond!

Here's what was sent:

FAO Mr Ben Rhodes

I note in your club's customer charter that you state that Preston North End 'abides by Football League Regulations' and 'does not charge admission prices to supporters of a visiting club which are higher than those charged to home supporters for comparable accommodation. In particular, our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens, students and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting club.'

The club is clearly in breach of this commitment.

I note that further to pressure from a Bristol City fan and contact from the Football League, your club has decided to discontinue its policy of 'non-member' pricing for away fans.

That is to be welcomed. It does not, however, alter the fact that several hundred Bristol City fans attending the match on Saturday have paid more than they should have if your club had been adhering to 'the spirit' of the Football League regulations. In particular, you state specifically in your charter that concessions for students are available to away fans, when in fact they are not. Students attending Saturday's game have therefore had to pay the full adult 'non-member' price of £25.

I recognise that it would be a logistical nightmare to arrange financial reimbursement to all those fans who have been charged the higher prices for Saturday's game. As a gesture of Preston North End's goodwill, however, may I call on you to hand out a free programme to all Bristol City fans attending the match. This would clearly cost the club a lot less than the reimbursements that are morally due, but would at least show the City fans that you recognise a wrong was done and wish to make amends.

I look forward to receiving your response.

very good letter. don't think they will just hand out free programmes willy nilly though. something will have to be sorted as it cleary is a breach of the football league regulations.

[Blagdon red]

Surprise, surprise - the man in Preston, he say 'no'.

Can't publish his reply yet as he marked it private and confidential. However, I gone back to him as follows:

Thank you for your reply.

You are correct in assuming that it is not the answer that I was hoping for and I am afraid that I feel it reflects badly on Preston North End.

May I quiz you further on one particular aspect of your ticketing strategy?

I am intrigued by your policy towards students supporting visiting sides. By permitting no entry to any students on anything other than a membership basis (and presumably denying students who are supporters of teams other than PNE the right to buy membership), you are denying student supporters of visiting clubs any opportunity to enter the ground at the same price as that paid by student supporters of PNE. How is this an equitable state of affairs?

Or is membership open to visiting students? If that is the case, may I apply for membership for my nephew, who is attending on Saturday and has had to pay £25 despite being in full-time education.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

PS - As this matter is of great concern to 700+ fans coming to Preston on Saturday, I would like to publish your response on the Bristol City fans forum. I note that you have, however, marked it private and confidential and have therefore not currently done so. Would you be kind enough to consent to this being done so that other fans may know of your decision and the reasoning behind it? Thanks in advance.

[mark43]

[Blagdon red]

The general manager at Preston has replied. He says that concessionary prices, such as those for students, are a 'gift' of the club and not a right and that their concessionary scheme operates "for home fans".

As the only way of obtaining a student discount at Preston is by being a member, this clearly contradicts their own customer charter. I have therefore mailed him again, asking a simple question:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

You state: "Student or any concessionary schemes are a 'gift of the club' and not a right. Ours operates for home fans..."

In your customer charter you state: "In particular, our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens, students and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting club."

Which statement is wrong?

Expect a change to their customer charter!

PS - He declines to allow me to publish his replies in full. So much for an open and honest approach to fans!

[giles_23_bcfc]

The general manager at Preston has replied. He says that concessionary prices, such as those for students, are a 'gift' of the club and not a right and that their concessionary scheme operates "for home fans".

As the only way of obtaining a student discount at Preston is by being a member, this clearly contradicts their own customer charter. I have therefore mailed him again, asking a simple question:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

You state: "Student or any concessionary schemes are a 'gift of the club' and not a right. Ours operates for home fans..."

In your customer charter you state: "In particular, our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens, students and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting club."

Which statement is wrong?

Expect a change to their customer charter!

PS - He declines to allow me to publish his replies in full. So much for an open and honest approach to fans!

Can you not put it up anyway? Its not as though its against the law is it?

Fully supportive of what you are trying to do mate! Keep it going!

[Nibor]

I think RedTop should write a little article on this. Actually I think he should write a bloody great big article. Let's see how Preston like getting some national press

[Blagdon red]

I won't publish this guy's mails. He has asked for them not to be published and much as I think that is the wrong decision on his part, they were sent as personal mails not press statements and I respect his request.

The latest is: Preston North End will be changing their customer charter!

The general manager, has thanked us for pointing out the inconsistency in this charter, which was written in 2002 and hasn't been updated since 2004. The membership scheme they now run is not consistent with their own charter, so they're changing the charter!

RedTop, if you want to follow this up, the man to talk to up there is Ben Rhodes, whose direct e-mail address I now have if you would like to contact him.

[Barry]

I won't publish this guy's mails. He has asked for them not to be published and much as I think that is the wrong decision on his part, they were sent as personal mails not press statements and I respect his request.

The latest is: Preston North End will be changing their customer charter!

The general manager, has thanked us for pointing out the inconsistency in this charter, which was written in 2002 and hasn't been updated since 2004. The membership scheme they now run is not consistent with their own charter, so they're changing the charter!

RedTop, if you want to follow this up, the man to talk to up there is Ben Rhodes, whose direct e-mail address I now have if you would like to contact him.

thankyou for fighting my battle for me.......

at least we are getting somewhere with their corrupt club.

[phantom]

It appears a result HAS been achieved !

http://www.bcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,1...1121299,00.html

[screech]

It appears a result HAS been achieved !

http://www.bcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,1...1121299,00.html

Am I reading that right,tickets are no longer available at Ashton gate to purchase, so if you want to go to the game then you pay on the day at full price, regardless of circumstances ie. student oap?