The partial refund from Ticketmaster comes following public comments from The Cure front man Robert Smith, who said he was "sickened" by the "debacle" – and assured he would seek answers from fans.

Smith added that Ticketmaster agreed the fees had been "unduly high" and would return some of the money tweeting: "If you already bought a ticket, you will get an automatic refund. All tickets on sale tomorrow will incur lower fees."

As a "gesture of goodwill", the company will refund $10 (£8) to anyone who bought the lowest-price tickets, which were priced at $20 (£16), he said.

All other fans will received a $5 refund – although Ticketmaster have not confirmed the refunds, despite the amounts being tweeted by Smith.

Issues with ticket sales for The Cure’s US tour emerged this week after fans shared screenshots of Ticketmaster's pricing structure.

One customer who bought four $20 (£16.54) tickets ended up paying $172,10 (£142), after a service fees, facility charge and an order processing fee were added. Another, shared their ticket from an upcoming gig in Phoenix, Arizona, paying $72.25 (£59.75) once fees and extras had been added for a ticket with the face value of $20 (£16.54).

Despite being sold across Ticketmaster, the fees varied by venue - with one service fee in Massachusetts being $16.75 (£13.87) while another was $15 (£12.42) in Toronto.

Robert Smith claimed that Ticketmaster agreed the fees had been "unduly high" and would return some of the money tweeting: "If you already bought a ticket, you will get an automatic refund. All tickets on sale tomorrow will incur lower fees."

Following fans raising the issue to Smith. he reacted furiously to writing a series of tweets ensuring fans that the band were unaware of the practice and criticising the additional fees.

"To be very clear, the artist has no way to limit them.

"I have been asking how they are justified. If I get anything coherent by way of an answer, I will let you know.

The Cure are one of many bands that have tried to take on Ticketmaster, with Pearl Jam hitting out at their practices in the past, and others hitting out at their “dynamic prices” which results in “ticket prices fluctuating based on demand at any time.”

Ticketmaster has been contacted for comment.

Ticketmaster issue partial refund for The Cure fans after front man Robert Smith calls out excessive fees