Match Tickets from 3.ie

This story goes as follows. I won two tickets to the Ireland vs Italy soccer match from three.ie. I got a tweet asking me to contact them by email. I sent them an email, they then asked for my name and address (as it appears on my official ID).


  Text from email as follows: 
Hi John, Yes, congratulations! We need your name as it appears on your ID to give to UEFA, can you provide this along with your address to have the tickets sent over before next week? Thanks, Patrick

 I sent them the details and they already had my home phone number and my mobile phone number, my twitter account name, and now my email address. I got a return email, saying that was fine and they would courier the tickets out to me on Monday 11th of June.

  Text from email as follows: Thanks John, we'll have those couriered out to you on Monday. Well done again!


My sons decided that they would send me over to Poznan for the game (as a present for fathers day). I insisted however that booking flights etc, would not be a good idea until I had the tickets in my hands. As it is only two physical paper tickets, I went to work on Monday, hoping they would be in my letterbox when I got home. They were not there. I assume it's just a minor glitch in the three.ie system. Went to work on Tuesday, again expecting the tickets to be in the letterbox when I get home, and also thinking that I should contact three.ie about it, (but then decide that I don't want to be wasting peoples time, so I wait), still thinking though that it is glitch in the system, and hoping it will work itself out without any hassle to anybody, (alls well that ends well), and all that. Wednesday arrives and I go to work this time determined to contact three.ie. I decide to wait until the afternoon lunch break is over. I then get a call to my mobile from three.ie, saying they have been trying to contact me since Monday. However neither my mobile phone, mu home phone, my email, or my twitter account has recorded any attempt by three.ie to contact me. The cynic in me now is thinking,what's really going on here? Anyway three.ie then reels me I have to be in my house to sign for the tickets from the courier. I tell them I can,t be there until later on as I am working. They say I can collect them myself from their head office. They say they will be left in the reception, and they close about 5.15pm, and so I agree to collect them from the reception, and off I go on my merry little way. A few minutes later I get another call from three.ie. they say they need my passport details to give to UEFA. I tell him my passport is. At home, and I,ll call and give the details when I get home. I leave things at that, and go off on my merry little way (don't forget I,m working through all of this stuff). I,m out working and phone is now on silent, and at 7.20pm (which is the first time I get to check my phone) shows I have a missed call and a text message. Pic below:


  Pic of The text message.


  IMHO the significant words in this text are "I,ll have to pass them on, I,m afraid"



 So at this point I decide my cynicism was justified and I decide to send an email to three.ie outlining my disappointment.
  The text is as follows: 


Hi Patrick I have to say I am very disappointed the way the issue of the tickets that I won has been handled. I was asked by you on Friday for my name address on id etc, and I gave it. Was assured the tickets would be couriered out on Monday. Only got your call today and rang you back as soon as I could park the car, (which was only a couple of minutes after your call). I arranged to collect them from your offices. You then said you needed passport details which I don't carry around with me, I told you I would send the details to you when I got home, where my passport is located. I was on a job driving people around for the next few hours and could not answer my phone and then I get this message telling me (I have until 6 oclock to get my passport details to you) or you will have to pass them on. I don,t think thats right. I won them fair and square, and thus they are my tickets. I complied with everything I was asked to do, and in my opinion they are my tickets (to do with them whatever I want). Anyway the fun has been taken off them, and I just want to register my great disappointment, with the way Three has handled this. Not ringing me until Wednesday was very bad form, (even if it was an oversight) for tickets for a match in Poznan 5 days later is a bit off the wall. 
 Regards.






The return email is as follows. 


HI John, Thanks for your mail. As I explained to you on the phone, I had been trying to get through to you since Monday. My main prerogative is to get rid of the tickets and at this time, I still have them. I did not know that UEFA would request your details and as soon as I did, I contacted you. I still have the tickets as I said so if you want to get your passport details through to me asap, they're yours. Best regards, 






My response is as follows: 
Patrick my details were emailed to you with my home number and my mobile number. I have no unanswered missed calls on my mobile and no private numbers are showing on my incoming call list on the home phone, and the only contact I had by phone with you (yesterday) had an almost immediate response from me, and my phone can show that. It took you five full days to contact me by mobile phone (which seems incredible) since you are acting on behalf of a mobile phone company. At that point I assumed the tickets were almost 100% in my hands, and then was mentally preparing to book flights, airport transfers,hotels etc, until, that is, I seen your text message (btw which I did not see until after 7pm as the phone was in my pocket). You text message very clearly stated that if you did not get my passport details by six oclock yesterday evening, you would "pass them on". There is no ambiguity in that statement, and clearly nobody would arrange flights etc, based on that statement. In any event, based on that statement, I told my son (who was bringing me over for the game as a fathers day present) not to make any arrangements to fly as the tickets were now gone. Luckily i had asked him not to book the flights until I had the tickets in my hand. Either way, as I have said, the novelty and goodwill has been lost on these tickets and its now far too late to book flights etc. As you say, "my main prerogative is to get rid of the tickets", can I point out again to you, they were won in a fair competition by me, and therefore (in my book) that makes them my tickets, which in turn, means you do not have the right to (as you say) get rid of them. I think you can take it that I personally will not be going to POZNAN see Ireland playing Italy in the 2012 Euro finals, (unless they both end up in the final). By all means you can feel free to "get rid of them", Under these circumstances I won,t be availing of them, and I will let THREE know of my disappointment. I don,t know if you work directly for THREE, but, I will take this up at a senior management level with THREE. With immense disappointment. 
 Regards John Fitzpatrick




 One particular thing I find absolutely irritating in this is that a company that sells mobile communications as its primary product, is somehow trying to blame the telecommunications systems for its own failures in communicating with me, despite the fact that it had 4 different communications systems available to it, (namely, land-line, mobile phone line, email address, and twitter account). Thats MADDENING TED.


 I am in two minds as to how I should deal with this now. Have I got a legal leg to stand on? If I have legal rights, what are they?

 Have I got a moral leg to stand on? I know this much, if I had won these tickets in a pub raffle I,d be up in arms over not getting them.

 Should I seek compensation of some kind? Should I seek a gesture from three.ie? Should I take it up with three.ie, or should I just leave it and ignore it?

 What do you think?

You will never beat the Irish

It strikes me that many people in the media do not understand the cultural significance of singing Y,I'll never beat de oirish.

The words seem to be what's causing most commentators to get confused. They seem to think the words refer to the result of the game, (and sometimes it does). But, on most occasions of soccer matches, we do not win very often, but we do draw, and thus we are not beaten, hence Y,ill never beat the oirish is a statement of fact on the occasion of a draw.

On the occasions when we are actually beaten, Y,I'll never beat the oirish culturally means that, ye can shuv the result, we don,t care about the match now, and the real competition is about to start. This competition however will have many many many more players than the eleven aside that are permitted on the soccer pitch. I an referring to the spectators game known as the singsong.

It is widely acknowledged by media commentators all over the world, that following a soccer match in which Ireland are one of the teams, you can count on the singsong after the game. And I never heard anyone ever say that the Irish singsong participants were ever beaten.

So hence the words,now, do act as a statement of fact, and it's true, they will never beat the oirish when it comes to the singsong, and culturally no matter how down we might be, we all know there is another metaphorical fight to be fought, and thus our call to metaphorical arms is on, thus we all participate in that particular battle.

We also will never show the world publicly how down we really feel, no matter what they throw at us, sure didn't we put on a brave happy smiley face on things for 800 years, while we fought the English, and they could never understand that particular trait. So fighting a few European countries on the soccer pitch is really a walk in the park, in that context.

So in reality the context of the Y,ill never beat the oirish, is what matters, and sometimes it is a statement of fact, that refers to the after match competition.

So all media commentators should get over their lack of understanding of the Irish Sports fans propensity for singing, You will never beat the Irish. And for the record when the game is on, it bugs the life out of the opposition and sometimes helps to unsettle the opposition. And even if we don,t win the game, we will definitely win the SINGSONG.

My opinion on Roy Keanes comments are that he was clearly aiming his comments at the players and the FAI, and as a proven professional soccer player, he is quite entitled to demand higher standards from other paid professionals. He has always put the supporters first, and I suspect he always will.