Net closes in on ticket sharks as festival pioneers sell-on system

Published on Monday 25 June 2007 01:35

SCOTLAND'S summer line-up of festivals, including T in the Park and the Fringe, attract millions of visitors every year.

But they also attract touts, who make thousands of pounds by reselling tickets for must-see events at inflated prices, and fraudsters, who leave disappointed punters with no way of getting their money back.

Among them is Derek Clark, who paid 200 in February for tickets to next month's T in the Park but who has since discovered the website he purchased them from has disappeared - along with his money.

The 21-year-old, from Hamilton, is one of hundreds of fans turned away at the gates or left without legitimate tickets every year. "It's a lesson learned," he said. "But what annoys me is that these bogus sellers are allowed to pull off the same trick over and over again, and nothing is ever done to stop them."

This week, T in the Park founder Geoff Ellis will give evidence to a new Westminster inquiry into touting and how to give consumers more protection from sharks who sell fake or overpriced tickets on popular internet sites such as eBay.

The culture, media and sport select committee will look at touting at music, cultural and sporting events, investigating whether the resale of tickets is acceptable and whether a ban on touting at football matches should be extended to other events.

The MPs will seek views from the live music industry. Last year, the government said it had "no plans" to make touting illegal. Many music fans complain that ticket touts - who continually snap-up tickets for festivals and gigs before selling them on for inflated prices - are a huge problem.

This year's T in the Park, which takes place in Kinross, will be the first to allow concert-goers to buy tickets from other punters legitimately. Fans who cannot make the event can sell on tickets through a special TicketExchange service set up by the event's official vendor, Ticketmaster. To prevent profiteering, tickets can be sold for any price up to face value. If sold, the tickets are reissued to the new buyers by Ticketmaster using new serial numbers and barcodes.

But for as long as fans are prepared to pay more than the asking price, touts will always sell on internet auction sites. Camping passes for T in the Park worth 140 were still being sold for as much as 300 on eBay on Friday.

Mr Ellis said: "We are really pleased to offer this new service to fans who find themselves unable to go to T in the Park and who want to ensure that they are passing their tickets on to other genuine fans.

"For some time, the secondary ticket market has been justifying its position by stating that tickets on their site are sold by fans that just cannot make the festival anymore.

"I have always argued that genuine fans would not be selling their tickets for a huge profit and that, instead, these sites are populated by touts taking advantage of fans who are desperate to go to the festival. This new system will absolutely separate the touts from the fans.

"Once again, we as promoters and Ticketmaster as a legitimate ticket agent are doing what we can to show the government that we are working hard to protect music fans and that what is now needed is a change in the law regarding the reselling of tickets from unofficial sources."

Chris Edmonds, managing director of Ticketmaster UK, said: "We have been working with T in the Park for the past two years to try to curb the level of tickets being resold by touts for this hugely popular festival. It is the only event-authorised and legitimate way for fans to purchase or resell their tickets and it offers consumer protection from potentially unscrupulous resellers."

The 11-strong Westminster committee, chaired by Conservative MP John Whittingdale, will look into a series of issues relating to the secondary ticket market.

It is asking for written submissions from promoters, ticket agencies and other interested parties on a number of key points, including the underlying causes of ticket touting, and its impact on performers, promoters and the public, whether or not resale of a ticket, at face value or at a higher value, should be permitted in principle; the impact of the internet upon trade in tickets; whether or not tickets' terms and conditions banning transfer and onward sale are fair or enforceable; and whether legislation already in place for football matches and the London 2012 Games should be extended to cover other music, sporting or cultural events.

But sometimes the problems are caused not by resold tickets but by the vendors themselves. Michael Cavanagh, of Haddington, East Lothian, bought tickets for T in the Park last year and was given a booking reference number by Ticketmaster.

About a week before the event, he realised he had not yet received all of the tickets and called the company, who said his tickets could not be issued. "They told me there had been a problem with my credit card," he said. "There was no reason why that should have been the case, so I called my bank and it turned out there has been no attempt to collect or authorise payment, so it simply wasn't true.

"Eventually Ticketmaster said they had some tickets they could issue so it turned out all right in the end - but only because I was able to prove I had made the purchase. I don't understand why they didn't contact me at all when they had a payment problem."

He added: "I assumed that, once you were given a reference number, the ticket had been issued. Apparently not."

Official sources are way to stop fraudsters calling the tune

CONSUMER Direct, the government's advice service, is advising anyone who misses out on tickets through official channels to be aware of the risks of purchasing through other means, such as online auctions or secondary ticket agency websites.

Consumer Direct Scotland spokesperson Jean Mackenzie said: "We receive a lot of calls from people complaining about tickets not being delivered, seats in the wrong location and counterfeits. If you want to be sure you will get the tickets you pay for, book through official channels.

"Online auctions are a popular alternative but you may not know who you are dealing with or where they are based, and you may be faced with highly inflated prices. If you have a problem, your options are limited, so it's important to know what your rights are."

Consumers have fewer rights when they buy privately and the biggest problem can be trying to get money back.

Some auction websites offer complaints resolution processes or anti-fraud guarantees. Not all do, though, so it is important that customers read the terms and conditions. The advice is:

• Get information from the official event website.

• Use reputable ticket agencies that are well known. Don't rely on website appearance.

• Shop around.

• Make sure you know the company or individual seller's full postal address. Never rely on just an email address.

• Do not assume that an internet company is based in the UK just because its web address has "uk" in it.

• Look for websites that have an encryption facility. Check that the web address starts https:// before you enter personal information or payment details (the "s" stands for "secure"). There should also be a padlock at the bottom of the screen when you are filling in payment details.

• Be sure you know exactly what is being sold, including seat location, total price (check additional costs such as booking fees), the delivery date and any return or cancellation policy.

• You may have to pay delivery or postage costs. These hidden costs can push up the price. Check with the seller before agreeing to buy.

• Save all information relating to the transaction. Always print out a copy of your order and acknowledgement you receive.

• You can reduce some of the risk of buying online by paying with a credit card if the price is more than 100. This won't guarantee that you will receive your tickets but could offer you some monetary protection.

• Find out what will happen if the event is cancelled and if you are entitled to a refund.