Capping the Tout Campaign
Rightly pointed out by a lot of people, touts do allow you to pick up a bargain on occassions and don’t always rip you off on tickets to the extent that they do with festival tickets and we dont want to ‘cut our noses off to spite our face’ and eliminate the positives brought to us by ticket touts, so we are currently campaigning to to find a middle ground in which we can live harmoniously and fairly together. Click the link below to sign our petition to get the mark up on resold music event tickets capped at 15% above face value.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/cappingthetout/
Useful Tout Related Links
Check out a mock scam website, click here
For more information about the ‘Just Tick It’ campaign click here
To listen to Consumer Direct’s radio advertisement click here
How to Avoid Touts and Scams
On the way into your gig or festival of choice, you will see plenty of people willing to “buy or sell any spares”. These people are not helping you at all, as much as they may think they are. These people have brought tickets in mass quantities and reduced your chance of grabbing a ticket at a normal price. Touts also work online, and eBay has been in the media as a tout haven. If you do a search, you will see tickets, again, at stupidly high prices. Some people are genuine, but most are touts, check out their other items, don’t be surprised if its more tickets for yet more sold out events. Touts are leeches making money off people who really want to see a band. It’s playing dirty.
If you don’t have a ticket for the gig, but you really wanna go, there are various websites you can buy your tickets at face value, such as http://www.scarletmist.co.uk which is widely recommended by organisers of many events and http://www.stoptout.com.
On the other hand if you do have a spare ticket on the day, why not walk to the line outside of the box office, and offer a fellow gig go-er the ticket at face value? We would advise you do not do this in front of the touts, they do have a history of not being all that understanding about the music communities caring sharing attitude!
It is absolutely ESSENTIAL that you look on the festival’s website for a list of AUTHORISED ticket sellers. Buying a ticket from any website / outlet that isn’t listed in the offical ticket seller list, could result in disappointment and a long fight to get your money back. IF you do buy from an unofficial seller, it is recommended you pay with a credit card as most will protect your purchase and it will be easier to get a refund from your card company.
It is also recommended that you take a look at the website of the event you are trying to obtain tickets for as they will sometimes provide you with a list of official and unofficial not to be trusted websites. If the event has a Message Board, have a look there to make sure no one else has been ripped off from a website / company that you are considering purchasing from.
Thanks for Leanne O’Brien for this information
What Should I Look Out For?
There are a lot of legitimate websites and scammers make it difficult for you to spot a fake. It is easy to set up a fancy looking website that looks genuine, or has a name similar to a genuine website. Professional fraudsters are at work.
The following are a number of things that you should consider before buying.
- Is the site making claims that sound too good to be true? Are they selling tickets to events that haven’t gone on sale yet? Are they guaranteeing you tickets to events that have been sold out for months?
- What do you know about the website?
- Check where the website registered and who it is registered to. How long has the website been registered? You can search for domain name registrant information using an online search tool, such as www.whois.com and www.nominet.org.uk (for.uk domain names).
- Always check for feedback, both positive and negative. Enter the website name into a search engine.
- What do you know about the company you’re buying from?
- Where is their office? Companies must supply the full geographic address where their business is established, not just a P.O. Box or mailbox number. Check out the address using a search engine – you can often find out if it is just a mail forwarding service.
- How can you contact them? Do they have a landline number in the UK? Does this number work? Is it automated and/or require you to leave messages on an answer phone? Be wary if they only supply you with an email address or mobile phone number.
- If a company sells over the VAT threshold per annum they are required to have a UK VAT number. Does the company have a UK VAT number?
Be aware of similar scams on online auctions and social networking websites.
How can I protect myself?
Be aware of how and when tickets for the event are being distributed by checking with the event organiser, promoter or venue where the event will be held. Find out more about who sells tickets to events here
What type of seat/ticket are you buying? Ask for details.
- What is the face value of the ticket? How much is the ticket being sold for and are there any additional charges? When will the ticket be dispatched and how will you be notified?
- What happens if things go wrong? What is the company’s policy on refunds?
- Pay for tickets by credit card. Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as amended, the card issuer is jointly liable for the failure to provide goods or services provided that the cash price of a single ticket is over £100.
- When booking online check that the payment pages are secure by looking for a padlock symbol or making sure the website address begins with an https prefix.
- Always print out a copy of your order and a copy of the acknowledgement you should receive from the company.
What if I Get Scammed
- If you believe you have been a victim of a scam you can:Take action:
- Report the incident to the police and get a crime reference number.
- Advise the website’s Internet Service Provider that you have reported the incident to the police.
- Help others by sharing your experiences, both good and bad, by writing reviews when you make purchases.Recovering Your Money:
Once your money has been taken it can be very difficult to get it back, however you might be able to make a claim from your card provider or insurance company.
- If you paid by credit card then contact your card issuer immediately in writing. Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as amended, the card issuer is jointly liable for the failure to provide goods or services, provided that the cash price of a single ticket is over £100 (but not more than £30,000).
- If you paid by debit card you are not covered by section 75 and there is no legal obligation on the card provider to reimburse you. You may though be able to ask for money back under the ‘chargeback’ procedure operated by members of the Visa and Mastercard schemes – speak to your bank to see if this is possible.
- Check your home insurance policy. Some have clauses covering fraud protection.
Websites to Avoid
Coming soon
