THE National Consumer Agency (NCA) has admitted it was powerless to act after nearly 40 complaints from members of the public about a chaotic Guns N' Roses concert.

The complaints were logged after the band arrived late, had bottles thrown at them, disappeared for half an hour, and then returned to finish off their set.

By that stage, the majority of the capacity audience had long since left the O2 venue with some hoping there might be a way of getting a refund. The NCA said it had investigated the complaints but that the band had played a full set of songs – eventually.

Chief executive Ann Fitzgerald said: "The agency was in contact with Ticketmaster and the promoters of the concert, MCD, regarding the complaints about [it]. We investigated... but the artists did play their full set of songs, albeit at a later stage because of the missiles thrown at them from the audience. As you are aware, the agency does not have a statutory remit in relation to individual complaints and has no powers to award individual redress."

Labour TD Joe Costello, who raised the issue with the NCA, said: "It is not acceptable. Literally thousands of people had left and certainly did not get their money's worth.

"There does not seem to be any mechanism for aggrieved people short of the cumbersome process of going to court, which only a handful have done. There is no incentive to make sure this does not happen again and while a small portion of the crowd may have been ill-behaved, others should not have to suffer."

The NCA said angry concert goers had been informed of their rights and made aware of the possibility of taking a case to the Small Claims Court.