Attendees
Bryan Shaw, Tony Tams, Gareth Ekin, Darren Smallwood, Louise Flanders, Della Birchall, Tony Scholes (item 5 onwards)
Apologies
Terry Hughes, Paul Barker, Malcolm Clarke, Mike Twist, Steve Buxton
1. Matters Arising from the Previous Meeting
It was mentioned that a breakdown of away tickets were available at each sale level didn't seem to appear on the SCFC website. It was mentioned in the previous meeting minutes and efforts were going to be made to ensure this information appeared - Stoke City said they would check and ensure this information goes on next time any away tickets are on sale.
2. Season Ticket Direct Debits
We discussed the Season Ticket DD issues with the club at length. We pointed out that several people to date had not had any payments taken, some filled in three DD mandate forms and some people had several payments debited all in one go and some which payment had taken them overdrawn due to being an incorrect amount or debit date according to the payment schedule.
Stoke responded by saying that the banks had rejected the original DD mandate forms due to several salient pieces of information missing from the forms. Once this was realised then people were sent a letter with a new mandate form attached to fill in with a pre-paid envelope. Details were on there about changes to the payment schedule as a result. People were also handed the new forms to fill in several days running, who were queuing for season tickets at the ticket office.
We mentioned that we had a number of cases referred to us (details of which were passed onto the club in advance to provide a resolution to the referrer) and in each case we asked if they had received the aforementioned letter and in each case they said that they hadn't (contravening the Direct Debit Guarantee scheme). We also re-iterated that some people were still either waiting for payments to come out or have had several large amount debit in one go,sending them overdrawn.Stoke said that they would look into all cases referred to them and respond to the individuals concerned.
We also mentioned that several people were worried that there purchases had not gone through as no money had come out as yet. Stoke were quick to confirm that everybody who has purchased a season ticket, whether the money has come out yet or not, has their seat.
N.B :- If anyone is still experiencing issues then please get in touch ASAP and we will ensure that your query is dealt with
3. SCFC Direct Season Ticket Renewals - Age Banding
We pointed out that there have been several people contact the Fans' Forum who have been affected by the SCFC Direct age banding issue.Anyone who purchased a season ticket using SCFC Direct, who's age was affected by a price bracket change were still offered the cheaper price bracket.People who purchased at this price have been subsequently sent a letter asking them to pay the difference.
The main issue was that SCFC Direct was picking up there age at the current purchase date instead of calculating the customers age as at 1st August (age banding in the Season Ticket Terms and Conditions) . Customers who realised the error had no way of changing price banding on the internet and were forced to pay at the incorrect price.
Stoke said they would look into the error on SCFC Direct to ensure that this bug does not appear in the future. They did re-iterate that the Terms and Conditions does state the date of 1st August for age calculations.
4. Matchday Parking - Traffic Management.
The Fans' Forum once again raised the issue of Stanley Matthews Way being made 1 way after matches. The club fully appreciate the benefit of this and indeed are lobbying for this action to be taken.There are so many authorities who would have to be in agreement (a few of which are the local police, council, all the businesses on the stretch). Not all of the bodies who would need to agree this action, are willing to let this happen.
The Fans' Forum pointed out that the police shut a lot bigger roads than Stanley Matthews Way for health and safety reasons at other grounds in the country week in and week out. We sited the example at our recent trip to Arsenal where a major A-Road was shut. Stoke fully agreed, but at present, until the other bodies are in agreement, the road will stay as two way after matches.
The Fans' Forum also said that the parking situation is exacerbated by individuals parking inconsiderately on official car parks (South in particular), blocking rights of way on the car parks, not parking closely enough etc. We said that instead of three or four stewards on the entrance filtering cars in, several stewards could be deployed to assist in parking cars in the correct locations and the correct distance apart and to prevent people blocking others in. The representatives at this meeting said they would speak to Stadium Manager, John Alcock about this.
We mentioned that tarmacing the car park and putting in proper spaces would help. Stoke agreed but re-iterated that the South car park is rented so they could not tarmac this without consent and then added that Stoke would be renovating something that does not belong to them.
5. Planned changes to the ground during the summer
The Fans' Forum asked about any proposed changes to the ground during the off-season.
The list so far is:
Renovation of the concourse in the John Smith's Upper
Hardwiring the ground for TV (fewer trailing wires for TV cameras)
Camera seats in some of the balcony's
Refurbishment of the track around the pitch
6. Any Other Business
Prioritisation for next seasons away tickets
Tony Scholes said that this was something that he was looking into at present. The Fans' Forum offered certain suggestions, such as the away season ticket etc all of which were items that were on the radar for Tony to look at during the next few weeks.
Smoking at the stadium
We informed the club that this was a situation threatening to get out of hand in certain areas of the ground. Several people have been coming to various members of the Forum saying that people have moved to different areas of the ground as people cant or don't want to use the toilet facilities because of the people smoking in there and the hostile atmosphere. Tony Scholes said that this was something that the club is constantly looking at and was very concerned at the feedback we were giving about the knock on effects this is causing.
VAT on tickets
The Fans' Forum asked about the pledge that the club had made to donate the difference in VAT between last years season tickets and this years, to aid local schools and organisations to purchase PE kits and equipment. Tony Scholes said that the takeup of this had not been as great as he had expected. Tony said that he would check to see if this is still open and if so, then if anyone knows any school or organisation who would benefit from this then to apply to Stoke City.
Trophy Cabinet
The Forum asked about the trophy cabinet that was located in the main reception. Stoke said that this had been re-located into the Greenhoff Suite. Stoke said that fans could be escorted upto the suite if possible to view the trophy cabinet. The Forum then asked whether we could have the awards that the Fans' had won displayed in Delilah's Bar, after all they are for the fans and should be available to see. Tony Scholes said that this should not be a problem and tasked Della Birchall with seeing to this.
Potters Foundation
The Forum pointed out to Tony Scholes that quite a few people were unhappy about the amount of information that is coming out of the Potters Foundation, the section on the website is out of date and many people do not know either about the Foundation or the benefits. Tony said that there should be a monthly newsletter. Several members of the Fans' Forum who have been in the Foundation since inception were unanimous in stating that there has only ever been 1 newsletter. Tony Scholes highlighted the importance of the Foundation and said that this would be looked into immediately.
Ticket Phoneline Staffing
The Fans' Forum mentioned that there are many occasions where there are excessive waiting times on the ticket office phonelines. The club stated that there are only a finite number of lines and all are manned. There are definite peaks and troughs in demand for the service. Often there will be a sudden surge for the first day when season tickets or away tickets go on sale and then less-so during the following day(s).
