The organisers of a club night involving free-flowing Prosecco and a giant ball pit have apologised after a string of last-minute cancellations left customers hundreds of pounds out-of-pocket.

The ball pit promised Prosecco on-tap.

Prime Live group has apologised after it was forced to cancel a highly-publicised Prosecco & Balls UK tour, leaving hundreds waiting weeks for refunds.

On November 6, the drinks business reported, alongside a number of regional and national publications, that an adult-only ball pit doubling as a Prosecco bar would tour the UK in the run-up to Christmas.

But all of the events have now been cancelled. Now, people who paid for the Prosecco & Balls nights have complained to Action Fraud after waiting more than two weeks to be refunded with little-to-no communication from the promoters.

Prime Live, meanwhile, have reported disgruntled customers to the police over claims of harassment and abuse.

The event group is also being investigated over the unexplained cancellation of a series of another, Day of the Dead-themed event which were set to take place this year, according to the Lancashire Post.

Prosecco & Balls axed

“It is with deep regret that we are forced to cancel all upcoming prosecco and balls events,” Prime Live said in a statement on its community Facebook page.

“Over the last few months we have come under extreme scrutiny and had claims made about us beyond our belief. As a company (Prime Live Group LDT) we believe that supplying high quality events are of top priority and of course maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction to help us create brilliant brands and keep loyal customers.”

The first event was set to take place at Plastik nightclub in Belfast on 17 November, but the was axed by the organisers with 48 hours notice, according to the venue.

We have provided screenshots of the full statement, which was published at around 7pm on Monday 4 December 2017.

Prime Live statement (1/3).
Statement (continued. 2/3).
Statement (continued. 3/3).

The promoters said they had received violent threats from people requesting refunds.

“Around 2-3 months ago a hate group was formed against the company by a small group of disgruntled customers who believed our events weren’t up to their expectations and made threats to damage any future events unless we adhere to some extreme negotiations.”

“Since then they have contacted various legal bodies including trading standards and the police, however both have deemed our company to be of good intentions and good faith towards our customers.

“The police already are currently looking to prosecute various members of this hate group as comments of suicide, forced entry into personal properties and violence towards staff members have been made. We recommend if you want to follow this up to confirm we are genuine you can contact us privately and we will supply you with the crime reference number.”

Prime Live provided the drinks business with a crime reference number. However, a spokesperson for Merseyside Police said that it was unable to discuss the progress of the report with anyone besides the person who made it.

A spokesperson for the group told the drinks business that it was “extremely sorry” for the way events unfolded. “We are having a terrible time here.”

The statement was praised by several members of the group, who condemned the “small minority ruining it for everyone else.”

“Don’t let them win , there’s some nasty people in this world,” said one commenter.

However, other commenters demanded an update on when they could expect to collect their refunds, and complained that the group admins were routinely deleting negative comments on their events.

Screenshots seen by db show dozens of ticket-holders posted to the group over the course of late November to ask when they can expect a refund.

db understands these were removed from the Prosecco & Balls page within hours of posting.

The company said it will “be selling all assets to refund tickets, this may take some time. We are already working on this and with various agencies.”

Who cancelled?

Prime Live said the tour dates were cancelled after a number of venues pulled out of the event.

“It seems the movement behind damaging our company has managed to contact some of our venues convincing them we are a scam and we have ill intentions.”

“Naturally venues wouldn’t normally believe such gossip however it seems that this group has also approached the newspapers / various U.K. Media outlets to get articles written about our events being a “scam”. This again is false however has worried first time venues working with us and caused them to cancel.”

However, A spokesperson for Plastik — the first club set to host the adult-only ball pit — told db that the promoters called off the event.

Plastik took to Facebook to explain that the night “had been postponed by the promoter and will no longer be held at our venue.”

“Any queries regarding refunds please contact Prosecco & Balls UK tour directly.”

Plastik told ticket-holders that promoters Prime Live cancelled the event “for reasons beyond our control.”

The following evening, hundreds of people travelled to The Buttermarket in Shrewsbury — the second club listed on the tour — only to find the venue completely shut. Guests said they were given no prior warning that the event was cancelled.

When db contacted the Buttermarket — the second club listed on the tour — earlier this month, a spokesperson said that the night had been postponed by the promoters until 2018, but they believed it would still go ahead next year.

We have asked Prime Live for further information regarding the cancellation of Prosecco & Balls UK tour dates.