2024-07-03 11:10:45
In terms of numbers, the main complainant is Colo Colo with 275 cases, followed by the University of Chile with 112 and finally the Catholic University with only 16 complaints.
The National Consumer Service (Sernac) has initiated a series of audits of the corporations that manage Colo Colo, Universidad Católica and Universidad de Chile, to investigate the clauses and content of the season ticket contracts of their fans.
This is in relation to a series of complaints that the Service has received in various reports of non-compliance. In fact, of the 1,306 complaints related to football issues between 2023 and June 2024, 32% are related to the issue of season tickets offered by the clubs’ SADPs.
What are season tickets in football?
It is a paid membership contract that provides certain guarantees and benefits to fans so they can participate in the sporting activities of the clubs they belong to: discounts, rights to seats in stadiums, purchasing preferences, among others. These types of memberships also have categories of benefits and their costs vary depending on the football club they belong to.
In light of this, Sernac classifies the corporations involved as “providers” of services, which the fans, as consumers, can file complaints against in the event of non-compliance with the regulatory body.
The main complaint they express is related to the benefits associated with the contract.
The organization took note of several of these complaints, such as that of a U fan who claims that “I am a season ticket holder along with my father (…) Today I went to the website to redeem the ticket and I couldn’t. They told me that there are no more tickets left, which means that they sold my ticket, despite having paid for it for a year and it also means that they received the money for the ticket twice.”
He added that “it is already annoying to have to exchange something you buy for the year, but selling my ticket is just plain stealing. This has exhausted my patience, the treatment of season ticket holders is really shameful, there is no one to call, they don’t answer your emails, there is no facility of any kind.”
Another fan, this time from Colo Colo, says that “in 2023 I was a member of the Colo Colo faithful fan club and several games were suspended due to problems with the supporters. This year, 2024, I was informed by email that I would have compensatory tickets for several home games. I have tried to make use of that benefit (…) I never received a response.”
In terms of numbers, the main complainant is Colo Colo with 275 cases, followed by the University of Chile with 112 and finally the Catholic University with only 16 complaints.