MPs BID TO CURB TICKET ‘RIP-OFF’S

A cross-party group of MPs has called for greater protection for consumers buying second-hand tickets for cultural and sporting events.Following a series of evidence-gathering sessions hearing from consumer groups, those working in the live event industry and ticketing agencies, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ticket Abuse has produced a raft of recommendations to increase transparency in the secondary ticketing market and stop fans getting scammed.The MPs now plan to table amendments to the Consumer Rights Bill, which is due to be debated in the Commons in May, to regulate a market estimated to be worth £1bn a year in the UK, but which has also been linked with organised criminal networks by the Metropolitan Police.The fresh calls for the Government to step in to curb touting follow hot on the heels of a stream of reports covering the touting of tickets to Kate Bush’s comeback shows.Despite limiting purchasers to 4 tickets and requiring the credit card holder to be present when at the event, scores of tickets have found their way onto the secondary market, where they are being sold for a minimum of £600 each – more than 12 times the face value of the lowest-priced tickets.The MPs also pointed to an increasing problem with fraudulent or cancelled tickets being sold through apparently legitimate websites, leaving fans stranded at venues. 600 fans were recently turned away from the o2 Arena in London after buying invalid tickets to see American rap star Drake through the most famous resale websites.The key recommendations outlined in the report include:

• Guaranteed compensation for fans falling victim to ticket scams through resale websites, covering their costs for getting to the event.
• A legal requirement for resale websites to publish full information about the tickets listed through them, as well as information on the seller.
• A further requirement for resale websites to declare where tickets have been given directly to them from an event-organiser, as well as to investigate the provenance of tickets where one individual tries to sell more than 20 for one show.
• Responsibility for tracking down and prosecuting those committing ticket crimes to be given to a national Police agency.

The MPs also called on event-organisers to do more to prevent their tickets being snapped up in large quantities by touts, as well as to establish refund and official exchange systems for genuine fans who find they can’t attend events – like that set up for Olympic tickets in 2012.Mike Weatherley MP, Conservative co-chair of the APPG and Intellectual Property Advisor to the Prime Minister, said: “The whole industry needs to be much more open. Consumers deserve to know which tickets they’re buying and who they’re buying them from.“Nobody’s saying there shouldn’t be a secondary market, but it needs to work in the favour of consumers and the creative sector, not of a few faceless individuals getting rich off the hard work, investment and talent of others.”Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour co-chair of the APPG, said: “As the Metropolitan Police have said, the complete lack of transparency in the secondary ticketing market contributes to consumers getting ripped off – whether that’s through artificially high prices or buying fake or cancelled tickets, as lots of Drake fans have unfortunately done recently.“There’s no excuse for inaction from either the secondary market or the Government, and I hope Ministers will use the Consumer Rights Bill to put fans first.”ENDSNotes to editorsThe report from the APPG on Ticket Abuse, and more information about the Group, can be found at www.putfansfirst.co.ukOperation Podium, the Metropolitan Police Service unit set up to tackle Olympics-related crime, including ticket touting and forgery, produced a final report on the subject of ticket crime in February 2013, which:

• Found that: “due to the surreptitious way that large numbers of ‘primary’ tickets are diverted straight onto secondary ticket websites, members of the public have little choice but to try to source tickets on the secondary ticket market.”
• Concluded that: “the lack of legislation outlawing the unauthorised resale of tickets and the absence of regulation of the primary and secondary ticket market encourages unscrupulous practices, a lack of transparency and fraud.”
• Recommended that: “consideration must be given to introducing legislation to govern the unauthorised sale of event tickets. The lack of legislation in this area enables fraud and places the public at risk of economic crime” and “the primary and secondary ticket market require regulation to ensure transparency, allowing consumers to understand who they are buying from and affording them better protection from ticket crime.