The Trust approached the club back in May when we first knew that the season would not be completed due to Covid-19, and this left a surplus of six tickets for each season ticket holder. We were aware that a number of supporters had stated that they did not want a refund for the remaining six tickets, and this has been reflected at many other clubs up and down the country.
We started conversations about what options might be considered with these tickets. The club stated to us that they had already considered plans to refund each season ticket holder the six tickets for the 2021/21 season. We wanted to propose an alternative where should our season ticket holders choose not to seek a refund, something positive could come from it that would benefit the local community.
We spoke to the club about the scheme but were insistent that anyone not wanting to participate should obviously have that choice. We saw this as fitting into our proposals and as such the plan was agreed. The proposed scheme was 100% down to us.
We had hoped to release details of it much earlier than we did, but the club were keen to announce this as part of the season ticket launch for the 2020-21 season. Once this had been delayed to August, we decided to launch the scheme.
We have to say from the off that all statements that were published on this came from us. The club’s statement was written by us with a couple of minor tweaks to reflect it was from their perspective, but that aside, 100% of the wording was down to us.
The deadline date of 14th August was chosen by us, with season tickets on sale from the following day, as a way of putting a full stop to the season. Details of the season tickets will be available ahead of this date meaning any choice by season ticket holders can be made fully aware of next season’s costs.
We used the phrase “opt out” to refer to participation in the proposed donation of the tickets, and to choose a refund as the preferred alternative. As stated above, in all our discussions with the club, we have had always been clear that should season ticket holders not want to get involved in this, then there should be no obligation on their part to do so. It was not our intention to make decisions for anyone, and every part of this, we believed, took that into consideration.
It’s quite clear from the feedback that we have received that we have not communicated that clearly enough to supporters, and we should have got that right first time around. We should have used the word “refund” to reflect the redeeming of the six tickets, and clarified that any decision was to be made by individual season ticket holders rather than a presumed decision that “opt out” carries. We have been in contact with the club, and they will be making a statement with regards to the next step for any season ticket holder wanting a refund.
We apologise for our communication that hasn’t been clear enough and to any season ticket holder who feels that they have been misled or that we have decisions made for them on their behalf. That was never our intention at any stage. Our proposals were made with the best of intentions, but if we’ve got that wrong, then we’re sorry.