Q1. How do I apply for an Essential Companion Pass?

To apply for an Essential Companion Pass, please contact us at support@tfnation.com with details of why additional support is required, together with evidence to support your application, for our team to review.

Don't worry if you're not sure what to provide - our support team will help you through the process and explain what information may be appropriate.

Once we have received the necessary information, our support team will review your application and let you know the outcome as soon as possible. If your application is approved, the next steps differ slightly depending on the age of the attendee who requires support:

Attendees aged 16 and older should purchase their convention ticket(s) in the usual way and then reply to our approval email with their booking reference and the full name and date of birth of their Essential Companion. Our support team will then add the complimentary Essential Companion ticket to the booking.

Attendees aged 15 and younger benefit from reduced-price or complimentary tickets, depending on their age, and must already be accompanied at the event by a ticket-holding adult. Where a young person also qualifies for an Essential Companion Pass, the complimentary Essential Companion ticket would therefore ordinarily be provided to a second adult in the party. This is because the ticket-holding adult fulfils the event's normal supervision requirement, while the Essential Companion ticket is intended to provide the additional support required by the young person. The supervising adult and Essential Companion would therefore be different individuals, fulfilling different roles at the event.

Groups / families - we want to reduce barriers to attending our events and will provide Essential Companion tickets wherever they are reasonably required. However, approval does not automatically mean a separate complimentary Essential Companion ticket will be issued for every individual within a party who requires additional support.

We understand support needs vary significantly from person to person, and we will always consider each application on its own merits. Where more than one attendee in the same party requires support, we will consider whether their needs can reasonably be supported by the same Essential Companion. As one adult may ordinarily supervise up to three children at our events, a single Essential Companion may similarly be appropriate to support for more than one attendee in the same party.

Every application is considered on its individual circumstances, however, and we are very happy to consider the need for dedicated one-to-one support where the information provided shows that this is appropriate.

Q2. What forms of evidence do you accept?

The evidence we accept includes:

1. A copy of any Nimbus / Access Card for us to verify.
   
   
2. A copy of the PIP decision letter showing the first page with the full name/address and headed paper clearly visible; the assessment page which is usually the second to last page; and the mobility scores which are normally on the last page. If you are not within the UK, then we ask for a copy of the equivalent documentation from your country of residence.
   
   
3. Evidence of disability-related benefit entitlement (optional).

Q1. Is there a bedroom discount?

TFNation's summer event includes a bedroom discount for attendees. Further information will be published in due course.

TFNation's smaller satellite events (such as TFN:Manchester) do not typically include a bedroom discount rate (indeed, some of our smaller events are not held at hotel venues)

Q2. Can I request a VAT receipt?

If you are a VAT-registered individual or business and would like to request a VAT receipt for your recent TFNation purchase, please send a request by email to info@tfnation.com and we'll be happy to assist. Please use the subject line VAT Receipt so we can ask the correct team member to get back to you as soon as possible.

Q3. Do I have to use the name printed on my passport, when buying tickets?

At TFNation, we support every attendee's right to be known by the name they feel most comfortable with; this can sometimes be different to the name displayed on their official identification documents (such as passports) for a variety of reasons, so we have included this section to provide a little guidance and explanation of our position.

As an events company, TFNation is sometimes asked to write letters to schools, workplaces and passport offices, confirming that a person has bought a valid ticket for one of our events. For this reason, we ask that your legal name is entered when purchasing a ticket, so we can verify your attendance if requested. 

This is particularly important for international attendees, as when entering the UK you may be asked to show tickets to our event, with the name displayed matching the name on your passport.

Where you usually use a different name to the one shown on your official documents, we would encourage you to let us know by using the "notes" button (visible just under the name fields, on the ticket purchase screen). This will then appear on the screen our staff see, alongside your legally-recognised name, when you are checking in to our convention.

Please also note: for a variety of reasons, TFNation does not print attendees’ names onto their convention wristbands.

We hope this explanation will go some way towards reassuring attendees until such time as international laws reach a consensus on the kindest way forward.