Harry Potter fans were turned away from a theatre at the weekend after being told the music show they had tickets for was not even happening.
Tickets had been sold for the Music of Harry Potter production last year, with the event advertised for 3pm at The Victoria Hall in Bolton on Sunday (March 1). But when people arrived, they discovered a poster displayed at the venue, which said that the company behind it – Jenmat Productions Ltd – ‘did not have a confirmed booking or signed agreement to hold this event’.
It added that tickets had been sold using the venue’s name ‘without our knowledge or permission’.
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The notice added that tickets had been sold through third party ticketing platform Ticket Tailor, but said that refunds are not being issued’ and urged ticket holders ‘to contact their bank or card provider to discuss recovering their payment’.
Jo Whitehead was one of the people who turned up for yesterday’s show after spending £74 on tickets for her and a friend – the payment for which was debited by Instep Academy.
“We booked in November and it all seemed legitimate,” said Jo, who travelled to Bolton from Rochdale for Sunday’s show. “When we got there it was very quiet and my friend actually said to me ‘can you imagine if we’ve been scammed’. Then we crossed over to the theatre and saw the poster that it had never been booked.”
Bosses at the venue had tried to alert ticket holders to the fact that the show wasn’t happening back in January, but not everyone had seen their post on social media.
After an initial enquiry from Jenmat Productions in September, they said no event was ever confirmed, and after finding that other shows from Jenmat had been cancelled with little notice, they told them they would not be accepting any booking.
But they later claim to have discovered that the company had been selling tickets, believed to be more than 500, for the music show without their knowledge. And say it had sold further tickets for a Karaoke Pop Party production on February 28, which hadn’t been confirmed either.
Joshua Beardsworth, Victoria Hall’s operations and facilities manager, said they contacted Jenmat to ask why tickets were being sold when nothing had been confirmed, but had no response.
With no way of contacting ticket holders, they then had to share information on their website and on social media.
“We first put the statement out in January, ” said Joshua. “We hadn’t sold the tickets so we had no other way of contacting ticket holders.
“Some people think that we have cancelled the show, but it was never confirmed. We’re being blamed but we’re just trying to support people and advise them what to do to try to get their money back.
“It’s a very fragile industry in the current climate without people pulling stunts like this.”
He said that any show taking place at Victoria Hall will be on the official website and if tickets aren’t being sold on the website itself, there will be links provided for the relevant ticket provider.
“If customers are going to book, they need to check on our website to make sure it’s official,” he said. “Just because an event is advertised on Facebook, that doesn’t mean it’s genuine.”
A statement on the Jenmat Productions website suggests it has appointed liquidators, although no details are given for the insolvency practitioner it says has been appointed. It says: “Jenmat Productions Ltd has appointed an Insolvency Practitioner as Liquidator and the formal liquidation process is now underway following a period of severe trading disruption.
“As a result, all scheduled and forthcoming events will no longer proceed. We recognise the disappointment this will cause and regret that the company has been unable to continue trading.
“For clarity, all events promoted by Jenmat Productions Ltd were genuine productions arranged in good faith with venues and suppliers at the time of promotion. At no point were events advertised without the genuine intention of delivering them.
“In a number of instances, agreed performance dates were subsequently cancelled by venues following external communications and adverse publicity. Those decisions were made independently by the respective venues.
“Jenmat Productions Ltd traded for a number of years, presenting hundreds of live performances across the UK to thousands of audience members. The company’s position deteriorated rapidly following venue-led cancellations and associated financial losses, ultimately leading to the appointment of the Insolvency Practitioner.
“All matters relating to the company’s affairs, including communications with ticket holders and creditors, are now being handled through the formal insolvency process.”
Jenmat Productions Ltd is still listed as an active company on Companies House with the director listed as Jenna Leanne Hopkins and secretaries listed as Mark Percival and Sharon Percival.
Jenna is also listed as the director of Instep Academy of Performing Arts – the company which debited Jo’s ticket payment – but Companies House says it ‘dissolved’ in March 2020.
The address of Jenmat Productions Ltd is listed in Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, which is the home of MYCO Works, a virtual business provider which provides companies with an address and processes their letters.
Jenna told the Manchester Evening News: “Jenmat Productions Ltd has appointed an Insolvency Practitioner and the company is now subject to a formal liquidation process. As a result, we are unable to comment further at this time.
“Information regarding the company’s position and the circumstances leading to the appointment of the Insolvency Practitioner is available on the following website: www.jenmatproductions.co.uk.”
The Manchester Evening News has attempted to contact Ticket Tailor to request a comment.
When messaging about tickets through the Ticket Tailor website chat, it states clearly that: “We can’t resend your tickets or issue your refunds. Please contact the event organiser if you need to do this.”
It adds: “Ticket Tailor is a software solution for event organisers to manage their own event listings, ticket sales and customer orders.
When you purchase a ticket you are buying your ticket directly from the event organiser and your commercial agreement is entirely with them. Please visit the page where you purchased tickets to find out how to contact your event organiser or to resend your ticket.
“Ticket Tailor does not manage or control any of the listings or events on our website and beyond providing the software services to sell and issue tickets online we do not have any affiliation with the ticket seller, venue or event.”
