Does Section 75 cover season ticket purchases

JReacher1

I can’t see fans being allowed into grounds until near the end of next season at the earliest. 

Ju.

JReacher1 said:

I can’t see fans being allowed into grounds until near the end of next season at the earliest. 

October is the earliest according the the government (Season starting in September) and that I can take because they offered a streaming link to ST holders for the remainder of this season so I’m guessing it will be the same. I can suck that up. I wouldn’t expect anything due to Covid. Especially when it’s already here. A valid point however. 

Manxman_in_exile

Why are you expecting your club to be expelled so they won't play next season?  Wouldn't you know already if they'd been expelled?

(As I suspect you have guessed, not all posters here are as up to date on football matters as you are - I certainly am not).

Ju.

Manxman_in_exile said:

Why are you expecting your club to be expelled so they won't play next season?  Wouldn't you know already if they'd been expelled?

(As I suspect you have guessed, not all posters here are as up to date on football matters as you are - I certainly am not).

Because at the moment they are not satisfying EFL league rules and haven’t done for the last 8 months. The worry is that, whilst they were allowed, with sanctions, to complete the last season this could mean that the aren’t allowed to start a new season in that same position. 46 days still to put it right, but it’s all moving incredibly slowly and could end up not resolved. 

photome

Guess you are not going to say who the club is?

My club sells the following seasons tickets renewals in feb, and like you, I like my seat and there is a waiting list for season tickets ,so I wouldnt have the option of waiting

Ju.

photome said:

Guess you are not going to say who the club is?

My club sells the following seasons tickets renewals in feb, and like you, I like my seat and there is a waiting list for season tickets ,so I wouldnt have the option of waiting

Rather not say who it is, but it is in the media so it wouldn’t be hard to guess lol. We don’t have a waiting list but with Covid and a limit to how many people can attend who knows what will happen on that side of it. 

I probably will renew and hope that the worst doesn’t happen. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

eddddy

Going back to the question about section 75... you need to read the season ticket terms and conditions - i.e. the contract - to see what happens about your season ticket, if the club gets expelled.

Section 75 makes the credit card company jointly liable for breach of contract (or misrepresentation). So if the club breaches the contract, you should be able to claim damages from the credit card company.

So for example, if the season ticket contract / t&cs says something like "If the club is expelled, you will not get any refund on your season ticket" - then section 75 can't help you.

Manxman_in_exile

eddddy said:

So for example, if the season ticket contract / t&cs says something like "If the club is expelled, you will not get any refund on your season ticket" - then section 75 can't help you.

Is such a term going to be valid though?  The whole point of a season ticket is to watch your club playing football.  If the club can't provide that I can't imagine a more fundamental breach of contract - whether they're responsible for it or not.  Otherwise a supplier could put into any contract "We are not liable to refund you if we are in breach of contact" and everybody would be doing it.

EDIT: If your travel agent can't provide your holiday because of Covid, they are obliged to refund you if you want a refund.  How is this different?  In neither case is it the club's fault* nor the travel agents?

*Of course it probably is the club's fault if they get expelled for breaking the rules.

eddddy

Manxman_in_exile said:

Is such a term going to be valid though?  The whole point of a season ticket is to watch your club playing football.  If the club can't provide that I can't imagine a more fundamental breach of contract - whether they're responsible for it or not.  Otherwise a supplier could put into any contract "We are not liable to refund you if we are in breach of contact" and everybody would be doing it.

EDIT: If your travel agent can't provide your holiday because of Covid, they are obliged to refund you if you want a refund.  How is this different?  In neither case is it the club's fault* nor the travel agents?

*Of course it probably is the club's fault if they get expelled for breaking the rules.

You're introducing another concept - unfair terms in consumer contracts.

And you're correct that the term "If the club is expelled, you will not get any refund on your season ticket", is likely to be deemed unfair on the consumer.

However, the point I was making is that if the OP wants to know what happens to their season ticket if the club is expelled, they have to read the contract terms (i.e. the terms and conditions). Section 75 doesn't give you any extra protection, over and above those terms.

Posters here can give their opinion on what should happen if the club gets expelled - but that isn't really relevant to 'breach of contract' or section 75 claims.

Manxman_in_exile

I'm not sure I understand?  If the T&Cs say you are entitled to your money back then that's what they say - fine.  If the club goes bust as a result(which is what I think the OP is worried about) he can still definitely make a s75 claim if neccessary because the club is bust.

But in the example you gave (which, for the sake of argument let's say, is an unfair term and unenforcable) the OP will still have a s75 claim if the club goes bust irrespective of what the T&Cs say.

Am I missing something obvious?  (It wouldn't be the first time  ).

I don't see how the OP would not have a claim if the club are in breach of contract because they've been expelled, never mind what the T&Cs say. (Oh - and I'm not saying that I think that that is the "right" thing to do - I've continued to pay golf club fees and my wife has continued to pay rowing club fees through lockdown precisely because we knew both clubs needed the income to stay afloat - even though they weren't providing the services they had contracted to).