I'd like to call your attention to two event organisations Showmasters Ltd & Massive Events Ltd which are essentially run by the same team. Why I'm placing this here is simple they hold two very large events in the city of London at the Excel. London Film & Comic Con (LFCC) & Destination Star Trek (DSTE). Both of whom have left fans & attendees in up roar due to there business practices, refund policy, lack of transparency & dishonesty. 

My particular experiences relate DSTE & likely echoes that of many others including those attending London Film & Comic Con. Destination Star Trek London was billed & advertised as the Star Trek Voyager Reunion. It was originally due to happen in late 2020 however due to the pandemic has been delayed. This is where our issues started, as they simply rescheduled the date they changed their t&c to mean they didn't have to give refunds as they simply transferred our tickets over. Many people had paid for tickets seeing that the main cast of Voyager would be in attendance with VIP tickets costing in excess of £1000. Others paid for cast shoots costing over £300 as hey all the Voyager cast was there. Then they changed the terms on the website stating a minimum of 6 Voyager cast would be included in the shoot. Except now the majority of the main cast have cancelled. As of yet there has been no announcement as to what will happen regarding this despite repeated requests. Especially considering they are still selling them while using an image containing the full cast, which could be construed as misleading in & of itself. With speculation that the missing main cast will be replaced with supporting cast members that maybe only appeared 2 or 3 times on the show. Which is not what they paid for & definitely not worth the extortionate rate they have paid.

This is where I must also now highlight other possible areas that call into question the companies moral code & borderline fraudulent activity.

As attendees we do accept that celebrity guests can cancel due to filming etc. However there is evidence to suggest that some guests informed the organisers they would be unable to attend up to 5 months ago. Yet the company continued to advertise & sell tickets & photo opportunities. Which include Robert Duncan McNeil & Robert Beltran. The later of whom they seem to have shall we say royally ticked off. They sold tickets & used these individuals images to promote an event knowing full well they wouldn't be able to attend & fulfill their contract with us consumer's. Isn't that not only false advertising but fraud? Not only that but they are holding our money, in a credit & voucher scheme (for up to 2yrs) & placing multiple barriers up to delay or put off those seeking refunds. Stating their T&Cs mean people can't seek monetary refund despite Consumer Law stating otherwise. As this event is delayed many are finding they are now outside the legal charge back time frame. Many are having to contact Trading Standards, Citizens Advice & pursuing small claims.

Customers are finding they are getting more information from the celebrities social media accounts than the organisers themselves. As Showmasters will routinely ignore comments via social media or simply delete any comment they deem as negative or critical of their company. These comments can simply be along the lines of 'hi I tried emailing...' or " I saw via twitter a guest is no longer attending can you confirm?" Not only will these comments & replies get deleted but the poster of the question or criticism will then be banned.

When statements regarding cancellation where announced they where disguised as guest announcements for the following year with a small paragraph attached saying how they where no longer able to attend this year. All photo opportunities would be transferred to next year, this however would necessitate the ticket holder to purchase a further ticket in order to gain entry next year to use the photo op. However in the terms of Robert Beltran they where simply removed from the website, with no notification he wouldn't be attending. It has made it look like he was never booked to start with, as there is no section where he is mentioned as cancelling. Most of those that ordered the photo shoots did receive an email with the relevant vouchers, which by the way they simply actioned without giving the option for a refund back to the relevant payment cards.

As of the other night yet another major guest Jeri Ryan had to announce there inability to attend simply because the organisers where not releasing any information. Yet they are still using her image, selling photo opportunities & her autograph online.

Jason Joiner the MD of both companies believes its OK to hold on to our money for 2 years before we might be able to claim a refund. All so we can fund the "hobby" & as "true fans" we should be OK with that. Some of us have £1000's of our hard earned cash tied up in DSTE & LFCC. This experience in only related to DSTE but is echoed by customers attending London Film & Con Comic Con, where similar shady practices have been employed.

He threatened a "Unofficial London Comic Con" group on Facebook with legal action if they didn't change their name. Even though it clearly states Unofficial in the title & as far as I'm aware "London" & "Comic Con" where not trademarked.

I please ask that more is done to regulate mass attended events such as Comic Cons so they can't do this. Stricter regulations on advertising as this company has surely breached advertising standards. We need a proper regulatory body similar to that seen for sporting events. Please, please lobby for a clamp down on these unsavoury business practices. We urge no we demand companies such as these operate with transparency, giving timely updates regarding guest attendance & cancellation. We demand to be given back the option for full monetary refund rather than this voucher & credit scheme. I also urge the relevant authorities please to look into the full scope of the practices employed by Showmasters while carrying out these very 2 large events in the grand city on London.