Which? reveals that most ticket resales sites are stitching up buyers

around the festival site (crowds at bands)

In a report published (here) Consumer group Which? has called for a crack-down on ticket resale sites, that are still trying to stitch up consumers, after they spent eight weeks monitoring four of the biggest secondary ticketing websites - Get Me In!, Seatwave, StubHub! and Viagogo.

Which? found:

Tickets appearing on resale sites before being officially released
Tickets appearing simultaneously on primary and resale sites
Suspicious ticket release patterns (eg tickets on sale within minutes of a priority pre-sale)
Resale restrictions ignored (eg neglecting to mention that photo ID was required on the door)

Their report reveals that they found examples of anti-consumer tactics, including tickets for sale before the official release simultaneously on primary and re-sale sites, and resale restrictions being ignored, despite the industry promising 'high levels of consumer protection' and saying they are committed to transparency.

Unfortunately it is still illegal to resell live music event tickets for a profit, and the industrial scale of tickets being sold suggests it was only possible because of computer software called 'botnets' that buy up tickets so fast that they generate false demand and make it hard for genuine fans to get hold of them.

Under this year's Consumer Rights Act 2015, rules now state that those selling tickets must notify the buyer of any restrictions on the tickets, all seating details and the original face value of the ticket. Which? says these rules are repeatedly flouted.

"People get rightly frustrated losing out on popular tickets, particularly when they end up on sale at the same time on secondary sites at higher prices," said Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which? Adding, "We need the government review to crack down on those who resell tickets at inflated prices on an industrial scale."

Ebay-owned StubHub! responded saying it does not own, purchase or price tickets to any event listed on its website. Ticketmaster’s latest annual report states that it may acquire tickets for sale "from time to time on a limited basis". When Which? asked Ticketmaster whether it sells tickets directly to its sister resale sites (Get Me In! and Seatwave), it said those sites "do not have a policy of acquiring tickets for resale in their own right." It declined Which?'s request to explain those two statements further.

Which? also asked how tickets can appear on secondary sites before an event has officially gone on sale: StubHub! said, "certain sellers know they will receive tickets by other means (e.g. hospitality or fan clubs) and therefore list them early", although it admitted it can’t check every ticket listed upfront. Ticketmaster declined to answer directly, other than to say its sites operate in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Viagogo failed to respond to any of Which?'s questions.

The government is currently carrying out a review into the issue. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "It's important that consumers get a fair deal on secondary ticketing. We have recently launched a call for evidence on the secondary ticketing market and the evidence provided by Which? will be helpful. We welcome views on how best to protect consumers in this area."

Until the it is still illegal to resell live music event tickets for a profit, these scumbags will continue to make money off fans and rip off ticket buyers. Glastonbury Festival has showed there are ways to stop genuinely high demand tickets being flouted at inflated prices, it's no surprise that options like that have not been taken up by an industry happy to rip off it's customers.

eFestivals recommends Scarlet Mist the genuine non-profit fan-to-fan ticket exchange service founded in April 2003 to help get Glastonbury tickets, provides a service for music lovers of a free face-value ticket exchange at www.scarletmist.com.

Scarlet Mist provides a free service for music fans with spare tickets for an event. It lets people trade tickets with one another at face value or less. It represents a community that resents ticket touts, a community that believes in collaboration and mutual help, and a community that campaigns and seeks change in the law to prevent profiteering and greed.

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