FOOTBALL supporters were left playing the waiting game over refunds for match and season tickets at AFC Bournemouth after it was decided the remaining fixtures would be played behind-closed-doors.

In March the football season was temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak but matches resumed in June.

Due to the games being played without fans, 12,000 tickets were to be refunded, and the club claims refunds took longer than necessary due to a fault with an external payment processing company.

Ron Hanlon, 66, had two tickets purchased for the matches against Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Tottenham and said he still hasn’t been refunded.

He said: “I have written to the ticket office and I said it is a total shambles.

“At the end of the day it is only £123, but it is the principle.

“When they say it is a payment processing company, somebody needs a kick up the backside.

“I went over to the club thinking maybe there is somebody who could help me, but they were all working from home.”

Fans were asked at the end of May whether they wanted to receive a refund, waive their refund or donate it to the Cherries Community Trust.

Season ticket holder Harry Gaston, 25, said the process was straight forward and he received his refund two weeks ago.

Harry said: “I got a refund for my season ticket and got a refund for other tickets as well.

“I got that a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t actually click an option because if you didn’t you got a refund automatically.

“I am in the north stand fairly central, it varies it cost where you are, but I got about £117 back.”

A spokesperson for Cherries said: “Due to the number of refunds needing to be processed following the announcement of behind-closed-doors fixtures, the club used its existing external payment processing company to carry this out.

“A refund timetable was agreed in advance with the payment processor, which would see all supporters receive their refunds by the end of June.

“The club met all its obligations for this timetable and fully expected these dates to be adhered to.

“This clearly was not the case and we applied pressure on the payment processor and worked hard to try and establish the reasons for this, while ensuring that all supporters received their refunds as swiftly as possible.

“The payment processor has assured the club that all refunds have now been made, with the exception of a small number of supporters who have either not responded to the club’s communications or where we are still awaiting payment information.

“We would like to thank our supporters for their patience and understanding during what has been a mutually frustrating situation.”

Cherries have had five games at home since the restart and fans who had paid for tickets for the trip at Wolves could also to claim a refund.