A touring unicorn show which promises children a ride on ponies at a cost of up to £159 has come under fire from disappointed parents – and has now been reported to Action Fraud.
Unicorn Dream – self-described as “a dream come true for children” – is scheduled to come to Bristol and Swindon as part of three-month nationwide tour which started in London on June 8.
Tickets can be purchased on the event’s website, with packages ranging from £37 to £159. The most expensive, the Kings, Queens and Princess Package, includes a 30-minute unicorn ride.
However, problems have been mounting for the tour ever since the first event in Camden was called off after one day due to weather conditions, leading to complaints from paying parents.
Since then, scheduled events have not taken place in Guildford, Reading and Somerset. Last week’s planned appearance in Keynsham was called off due to forecasted rain storms.
Concerns from parents over the running of the show have led to a report being made to Action Fraud, a reporting centre for alleged fraud.
An Action Fraud spokesman said this week that the issue was being assessed by the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.
Meanwhile, uncertainty hangs over the upcoming events in Bristol and Swindon.
The Bristol event is advertised on the website to be taking place at Wellsway Multi Academy Trust in Keynsham on five days over July and August – but the school has told this website there was no event bookings for it. In Swindon, the borough council cancelled a booking of its Westcott Recreation Ground for the event due its own concerns.
Stafford Carrington, from Unicorn Dream said he still planned to hold the advertised events, adding for Swindon, where he has received 15 bookings, he was looking for private land to hold it.
But grandmother Susan Dawson, who paid for a £79 package for Swindon as a birthday present for her eight-year-old granddaughter Gracey, said she had had enough, and was waiting for a requested refund.
She said: “It sounded wonderful when I booked it, but over time I saw other people’s concerns and then I heard about the cancellations. When I found out the council had cancelled its event booking, that was it for me.
“I think it is dreadful how they have taken money off so many parents and promised so much through their website, but then either cancelled bookings or left people very disappointed.”
Unicorn Dream has also been contacted by Make-A-Wish UK over claims of a partnership with the charity and a promise of a free ride for it with every 10 packages bought.
A spokesman for the charity said: “Unicorn Dream is not working in partnership with Make-A-Wish UK and we have not received any funds from the organisation.
“We have written to Unicorn Dream requesting for our name to be removed from all channels immediately and would urge the public to report any concerns to trading standards.”
Mr Carrington said rides were now being offered to other charities.
He said he was working hard to rearrange cancelled events and had faced issues arranging events on council-owned land due to licencing issues.
He said: “We are still intending to come to Swindon and Bristol.”
