Bluesfest paid parking fury: 'We want a refund'

LOYAL punters are seeking advice from NSW Fair Trading after Bluesfest's controversial decision to introduce paid parking at next year's event.

Paid parking will be introduced at the 2019 Bluesfest event. Picture: Javier Encalada

DEAR Peter Noble and (Bluesfest) organisers,

We have been attending this festival for several years and have been a member on your site buying pre-paid tickets for four years.

We were extremely disappointed to read in The Northern Star you are now introducing an add on cost to attending the festival and it's not a small cost at $25 parking pre-purchase or $50 on the day parking fee. It is too much and unfair.

When we pre-purchased our tickets we were not told of this cost and had no idea this was going to be introduced only three months out from the event.

Parking has always been free and so it should be as the tickets are expensive enough as it is.

As a result we no longer wish to attend the festival due to you forcing extra costs onto the entrance fee.

If you are going to presale tickets to your loyal annual followers, you should be transparent about every cost to attend.

We are not in a position to catch a bus so therefore would be forced to pay the extra parking. We don't want to do this therefore we want our two tickets refunded.

If you are going to write back and tell us that there is a no refund policy we shall seek the advice of Fair Trading as us and many others would not have expected this extra financial cost.

People who don't read The Northern Star or don't have access to buying online are going to be faced with the $50 fee on the day. It is an unfair parking fee for being in a paddock with a half a kilometre walk to the entrance gate.

If you wish going forward to charge for parking then do so in 2020 but don't penalise your loyal members who have fully paid "early bird" tickets as you've had these monies since the last Bluesfest in your account accumulating interest so surely this is profit enough.

We await your response.

Jennifer Creed and Terry Donaldson,

Wyrallah.