Supporters who have paid £10 to join an open waiting list have asked West Ham United to reveal how close they are to being offered a season ticket.
Fans who failed to qualify for a season ticket at the Olympic Stadium following the club's move to Stratford in 2016 were invited to join a waiting list for a modest fee of a tenner - an offer that remains open today.Last year Karren Brady claimed via twitter that the waiting list stood at 52,000 at time of writing - a figure backed-up by the vice chair when asked to clarify the number during a meeting with KUMB and other fan representatives in February.
Yet despite a number of enquiries, not a single fan who responded to an enquiry on the KUMB Forum had been able to determine exactly what position they held on the list - and consequently, left with no idea how much longer they would have to wait.
Watford 'Ammer, a member of KUMB since 2002 initially asked the club to confirm his position on the waiting list in July 2017. After being informed by a senior member of staff that that he would be informed "shortly", more than a dozen enquiries since have failed to bear fruit.
Another KUMB member - on the list for two years last month - was told that the club would be issuing further information when the current campaign had concluded.
And WebmasterFF cast doubt over the entire process by claiming that acquaintances of his that joined the list later were first to receive an offer to apply. "I've been on the waiting list since the last season at the Boleyn and not got a call," he wrote. "I've had friends who joined halfway through last season and got one this year."
Meanwhile one supporter claimed a family member was able to purchase a pair of tickets simply by asking in person at the club's Ticket Office. " My daughter's partner attended a few games towards the end at Upton Park and in the first season at the Olympic Stadium," wrote Captain Slaphead.
"This was always on tickets loaned from ST holders or originally purchased by others. He therefore had no 'purchase history' and he did not join the waiting list, hence was an total 'unknown' as far as WHU were concerned. In July 2017 he walked up to the Ticket Office and purchased two season tickets for the current season."
West Ham have also been asked by supporters to clarify whether the £10 fee is 'lifetime' or has an expiry date, as stated by the terms and conditions listed on the waiting list membership page.
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For those supporters considering joining the waiting list now, the odds of obtaining a season ticket do not appear to be particularly favourable when last season's 'drop off' figure of 5,000 non-renewals is taken into consideration.
With a waiting list of around 50,000, and based upon 2017's example, anyone paying £10 to join the list today would have to wait around TEN YEARS for the opportunity to purchase an annual pass.
Although should West Ham somehow manage to prevail in their ongoing battle with the Mayor, local authorities and arena operators regarding the stadium capacity (currently set at 57,000; the club seek 66) that wait could be reduced to approximately four years, on the basis that the vice chair's figures are accurate.
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