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AFL fans miss out, furious over Ticketek error messages

AFL fans are fuming after missing out on finals tickets when they were blocked on Ticketek this morning.

Rohan SmithRohan Smith
@ro_smith
2 min read
September 17, 2018 - 4:38PM
AFL fans angered after another Ticketek meltdown (7 News)

AFL fans have been left devastated after failing to get seats to the Richmond and Collingwood clash because they were blocked on Ticketek.

Frustrated fans have taken to social media to air their disappointment after being hit with various messages when finally getting through the online queue and trying to proceed to payment.

Some were met with security messages saying their credit cards had been blocked when there were reportedly no problems with their banks.

One Collingwood member wanted nothing more than to see his beloved Magpies run out on the hallowed turf of the MCG this Friday night.

The 29-year-old diehard fan, who secured tickets to the Pies’ first two finals, was trying to purchase four tickets for him and his mates — all of whom are members.

He went online, waited in the queue and was met with a security message just as he was about to secure four seats in the Ponsford Stand.

“When I went to pay it gave me the card security error message,” he told news.com.au.

“I tried to use different cards, got the same message. None of the cards I used have been blocked by the bank at all.”

Mr Anthony posted the following message online.

Rhys Anthony received this error message.
Rhys Anthony received this error message.

“Four tickets in the Ponsford GONE due to some bullshit error on a card that definitely is NOT BLOCKED and now the game is sold out and I can’t go,” he wrote on Twitter. “Not happy at all @Ticketek_AU.”

The man had volunteered to buy the tickets for the group because he had the morning off work. “They’re not happy either,” he said.

A Ticketek spokesman said they had offered the man two tickets to make up for the problem but he did not proceed.

Another woman also posted to Twitter with the same issue.

The spokesman said they had a sophisticated system to detect and prevent suspicious activity involving credit cards.

“There are a variety of reasons for a credit card to be blocked,” he said.

“While we cannot comment on individual cases, we stand by the integrity of the detection process as it has operated today.”

Richmond and Collingwood members bought 40,000 tickets in less than two hours, with many lining up outside Ticketek headquarters for physical tickets. Some spent all of Saturday and Sunday night in the cold so as not to miss out.

One of the first in line to get tickets is Dino Krommydas. Picture: David Crosling
One of the first in line to get tickets is Dino Krommydas. Picture: David Crosling

Tigers fan Maureen Kelly, 54, told the Herald Sun she came straight from watching Collingwood defeat GWS Giants on Saturday to join the back of the line.

Saturday night was much colder than last night and we managed to get a couple of hours’ sleep,” she said.

The frenzy over finals tickets is nothing new, but Friday night’s clash at the MCG was always going to sell out. The two clubs have some of the largest supporter bases in the AFL.

When fans tried to get their hands on tickets during week one of the finals, they were met with a massive meltdown.

The AFL revealed sales had to be put on hold so the ticketing provider could deal with the website traffic.

The opening bounce for Friday night’s preliminary final clash between Richmond and Collingwood is at 7.50pm.

Did you miss out on tickets? Let me know on email rohan.smith1@news.com.au or Twitter @ro_smith

Originally published as AFL fans miss out, furious over Ticketek error messages

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-fans-miss-out-furious-over-ticketek-error-message/news-story/0f167e33561c4b0254bf697c92d5b8b6