Ticket Touts: The New Epidemic?

Concert go-ers are being ripped off by ticket resellers. Photo: rawpixel.com

Recently I was the victim of a crime currently rife within the music industry; ticket touts. The subject is currently being debated in parliament about the legality of reselling and touting companies. Reselling and touting are costing fans hundreds of pounds above the cost price, purely to attend concerts. Touts buy tickets for concerts and resell them for a profit, often at up to 3x the original price, putting music beyond the working person’s grasp. 

An artist I am a big fan of recently released tickets for an extra tour date I had previously missed, so I frantically googled the event. I purchased tickets I believed were officially released by the group. 

I then contacted the location of the gig for a carer ticket as I am disabled - it was then that I discovered what had happened, and my stomach sank. I had been a victim of a ticket touting page. The accessibility team at the venue told me the company I purchased the original ticket from was actually a reseller website and wouldn't have any tickets to sell at the current time since they'd only been released an hour prior. He advised me to contact the company to cancel my ticket, then processed my actual ticket and companion over the phone.

I tried to find a contact number for the company without success; the only option I saw was a live chat. I explained that I had been led to believe they were an official merchant, and I wanted a refund. The company declined and offered to resell the ticket, for a fee, of course. I declined. I insisted on a refund again, arguing that they didn't actually have any tickets to sell at that point. They told me it was against their terms and conditions to issue a refund and closed the chat. 

Luckily, I paid for the ticket with my credit card, which protects me from fraudulent activity. I contacted the company, and they have referred my case to the fraud department. I'm waiting for a response, but I'm hoping for a full refund. 

Please make sure you get the tickets only from the arena or musician directly, this has been a very costly mistake for me. For context, I paid £198 for 2 tickets, the actual price from the arena directly was under £60.