EPL club Liverpool FC and Championship club Crystal Palace have gotten things right when it comes to customer service guidelines. That’s according to a comprehensive review of Premier League and Championship club charters carried out by the Football Supporters’ Federation. Every club charter was rated 0-5 across a range of categories encompassing accessibility, timeliness, quality, clarity of complaints procedure, appeals process, and contacts for the relevant league and Independent Football Ombudsman. Club charters provide consumer information and protection with guidelines on club policy relating to ticketing issues, complaints procedures, community work, merchandise and more. While Liverpool topped the Premier League table, Wigan Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal pushed them with well-crafted club charters. This season’s on-field favorites Man City struggled when it came to club charters finishing joint 15th alongside Fulham. In the Championship Crystal Palace scored a perfect round to top the Championship table at a canter. Birmingham City and Leeds United battled it out for the runners-up spot while Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Cardiff City all secured top-six finishes. Ipswich Town propped up the table with the Tractor Boys failing to provide fans with a club charter at all. The FSF said that Crystal Palace deserve special praise for their willingness to work with supporters (FSF).
Premier League |
Accessibility |
Current |
Quality of Charter |
Complaints Procedure |
League Details |
IFO Details |
Bans Process |
Total |
Liverpool |
5 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
23 |
Wigan Athletic |
5 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
22 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
1 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
22 |
Arsenal |
3 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
21 |
West Ham United
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
Everton
|
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
Sunderland
|
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
QPR
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
Aston Villa
|
5 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
Chelsea
|
2 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
1 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
13 |
Norwich City
|
4 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
5 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
West Brom Albion
|
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
Fulham
|
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Manchester City
|
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Reading |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Southampton
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Stoke City
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Swansea City
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
11.7 |