A troubled national music festival has been hit by a data breach impacting hundreds of ticketholders after the controversial withdrawal of several headline acts.
Just hours before the fledgling music festival Pandemonium Rocks opened for the first time in Melbourne, hundreds of music fans learned their confidential bank data had been accidentally leaked.
The names, bank details, email addresses, and phone numbers of 400 ticketholders were revealed after they applied for partial refunds following the cancellation of several major headline acts.
In a statement, the festival organisers said the sensitive data was visible from 5.47pm until 7.20pm on Friday evening.
“All people within that time frame who filled the (refund) form will be contacted by Pandemonium directly asap to notify them that their data was made public during that window and to advise their banks to update their information,” the statement said.
“We are sincerely sorry for the angst this has caused.”
Affected customers were left incensed by the release of their confidential information, which they had provided to the festival in an attempt to obtain refunds for the dramatically reduced line-up.
Ticketholders were offered a partial refund of $70 after four major headline acts suddenly withdrew from Pandemonium Festival, less than two weeks before the first event.
Fans were left bitterly disappointed when international headliners Placebo, Deep Purple, the Dead Kennedys, and Palaye Royale pulled out of the newly-established festival.
In total, seven out of the 13 scheduled bands disappeared from the previously stacked line-up.
“I’m fuming. I would never have bought tickets for this line up,” a festival-goer vented on social media.
“I want to see the acts I paid for.”
Another said the festival had been “grossly mishandled” and demanded a refund for the “botched event”.
As well as line-up and venue changes, the festival was also downsized to a single stage.
Despite the anger of many festival goers, thousands of eager music fans packed the inaugural Pandemonium Rocks event grounds in Melbourne on Saturday.
Videos shared by the festival show a teeming crowd dancing and singing along to the tunes of Blondie, Alice Cooper, Wheatus, Psychedelic Furs and Wolfmother.
The festival will travel to Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane with a side show in Newcastle.