The organisers of a disastrous New Year’s Eve event which took place in Sydney have issued an apology to irate punters who flooded social media with outrage over its poor organisation and failure to deliver on promises.
As the Sydney Morning Herald reports, punters who attended NYE Above The Harbour were promised “a relaxed, stress-free NYE in beautiful surrounds”, but instead walked away having experienced what they’re calling a “disaster”.
Tickets to the event were priced as high as $500 each, with numerous punters flying in to spend NYE with family and friends among the scenic surrounds of Sydney’s Domain and for the promise of the “finest dining, drinking and chilled-out partying”.
Instead, punters experienced queues of up to three hours for toilets and other amenities, “disgusting” food options, a DJ that played Justin Bieber on repeat over a subpar sound system, and lacklustre views of the Harbour fireworks.
“We spent most of the night lining up,” punter David Smith told Fairfax. “It took 1½ hours to 1¾ hours to get anything. People were actually going out and getting McDonald’s and bringing that back in, because it was quicker than lining up to get food.”
Organisers issued an apology via Facebook over the weekend, explaining that the queues were caused by the “volume of people wanting to access services and facilities simultaneously”, and that the food offerings were “difficult to produce at the speed required under the circumstances”.
The organisers had previously offered a refund of $100, which was quickly scoffed at by angry punters. Several Facebook groups have since popped up in protest of the event, including Refuse to be Ripped OFF – NYE Above the Harbour Scam, who are threatening to file a class action lawsuit.
Image via Chris Lee / Facebook
They’ve also warned punters not to accept the $100 refund offer, saying NSW Fair Trading is currently looking into the issue. The group has advised punters to file individual complaints with the Office of Fair Trading.
It’s not the first refund controversy to make headlines in recent memory. Many will remember the firestorm that surrounded the cancellation of Soundwave 2016. However, in this particular case, punters did attend the full festival they purchased tickets for.
Instead, in the case of NYE Above The Harbour, organisers failed to deliver on the promises made to punters, leaving them disappointed and unsatisfied and feeling as though they didn’t get their money’s worth, which in some cases totalled more than a thousand dollars.
