Ticket sites "must fight touts"

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Getty Images / BBC

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Tickets for Adele’s tour were advertised on secondary tickets sites for up to £24,000 each

Companies like Ticketmaster should take more action to prevent touts “harvesting” concert tickets, a government review has recommended.

It says the current measures are inadequate, and suggests buyers should be forced to give proof of ID.

The report also challenges re-sale sites to observe the law, by displaying the original face value of any tickets they list for sale.

A recent survey by Which? found the rules were consistently being breached.

While it is not illegal to re-sell tickets, it is thought that some of the selling patterns are only possible because of software known as “bots”, which automatically sweep up huge numbers of tickets the moment they go on sale. Touts then resell them at a profit on secondary market websites.

Tickets to see Radiohead in the UK this week are being advertised for as much as £6,000 – but that pales in comparison to Adele. In February, it emerged that tickets for her UK tour were being advertised for £25,000 each.

The singer called out the touts during one of her recent London shows, calling them “terrible people”.

“I hope no one paid that much,” she said. “If you did, I’ll pay you back.”

However, secondary sites say these highly-priced tickets rarely sell, and that 40% of their stock changes hands for less than the original face value.

Sir Elton John has also branded secondary ticket sites “disgraceful” and urged fans not to pay over the odds, telling the BBC: “I’d rather have empty seats.”

An anti-touting petition launched by the unlikely combination of Mumford and Sons and Little Mix three weeks ago has already attracted 42,000 signatures.

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PA

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Little Mix, whose Get Weird tour is the biggest arena tour of the year, have called for action on touts

The government review looked at whether consumers were being sufficiently protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

The law says buyers must be told the original face value of any tickets being resold and, where appropriate, the seat numbers and any other restrictions – for example age limits.

But a Which? survey of the four main ticketing sites – Viagogo, Seatwave, Stubhub and Getmein! – found “numerous examples” of the rules being breached.

During the government’s consultation, some called for touting to be made a criminal offence for rock concerts, stage plays and musicals – as is already the case for some sporting events.

Others wanted the government to prevent tickets being resold at a profit, capping the price at 10% above the original face value.

However, the idea was vetoed by Professor Michael Waterson, economics professor at Warwick University, who authored the government review.

He said a cap would be “difficult to police” and argued it would “legitimise” touting through legislation.

“This would not alleviate the concerns of an event organiser who opposes secondary ticketing sales on moral grounds,” he said.

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