I broke into Glasto....

[eFestivals]

Do they not scan the barcode on the ticket upon entry? If so not that hard surely to do a re-issue and cancel the "lost" original??? click click job done

They don't scan the tickets on entry.

I know they've looked into a system like that, and considered it to be unworkable for a whole number of reasons, including the fact that in bad weather it's thought almost impossible to be able to keep such a system working at every gate.

If they implemented such a system and it failed, causing all gates to close for hours at a time (which would be their only option), there'd be a damned site more people hugely pissed off than the tiny numbers who might lose their ticket.

But of course, you (and tens of thousands of others) would sit there happily missing the festival in those circumstances, and wouldn't complain at all, would you?

[Hubz]

No, you've missed the point.

The point is: no ticket, no entry.

The ticket is meant to be everyone's passport onto the site. If no ticket is needed, just proof of purchase, then next year we can expect to be the last Glastonbury, because if two people might be entering for any ticket sold then the festival will be exceeding it's licence conditions and will have no way of trying to abide by those licence conditions.

Just because they had proof of purchase proves nothing about what they might have done with the ticket. They might have sold it on, and the buyer might have got onto site OK with it.

the system is NOT flawed. The system works PERFECTLY.

Any flaws are due to individuals not doing their job in the manner they've been told to do their job.

I'm not trying to justify any rudeness, but at the same time the person in the ticket office did not have to give the OP entrance - they did not have their ticket as they were required to.

The OP (or anyone else) is not able to proof that they haven't sold their ticket; this is why a ticket is required.

because they didn't have the ticket that's required for entrance.

only the purchase is able to be verfied, nothing more. The festival is not able to verify that it hasn't been sold on.

Grow up eh? The attitudes that stink are the attitudes that threaten the future of the festival. Like yours.

The ticket was purchased and issued on the condition it was used for entry. No ticket, no entry.

Yes, it really is that simple.

(And as I made clear, I sympathise with the situation he found himself in. But that's his fault, not anyone elses).

[eFestivals]

Recently went to a sold out gig at Brixton Academy. Friends were coming from various places in the country for it and 2 of them realised they had left their tickets at home. This was a few hours before the doors opened so after a couple of calls to the venue and the ticket agency it was agreed that they would be able to pay for a ticket on the door and would receive a refund for the other tickets if they posted them back after the event.

I am not trying to say this should be done at Glastonbury as anyone could turn up and just pay to get in regardless of whether they had a ticket or not. They wouldnt need to claim a refund after as they never had a ticket in the first place. I just wanted to point out that at least one venue and ticket agency (I am unsure who it was) was sympathetic and helpful to a situation of lost / forgotten ticket close to the event.

the bit in bold is the exact reason why Glastonbury can't work it like this.

Dont agree with that at all. Sziget Festival in Hungary uses a barcode system and I believe over 400,000 attend over 7 days. I dont recall any problems when I went.

perhaps they resourced it properly?

The simple fact is that the festivals in the UK that worked a barcode system last year have dropped it for this year, because last year they staffed the gates at their normal staff numbers and entry took massively longer because of it. While they could have put on more staff so that entrance was at the same speed, that has cost implications, costs they weren't prepared to cover.

[grandadcollective]

Even if there was a computer system (which says which tickets have been used to gain entry) there will still potentially the following situation:

You lose the ticket.

Somebody picks it up and sells it to someone who looks like you.

The person who bought the ticket gets into the festival.

You get the festival and say you've lost the ticket and haven't sold it, the people on the gates check the system to see if that ticket has been used to get in.

It flags that the ticket has been used to get in, thus they think you've sold it and you don't get in.

Even if you just lose it and don't sell it, there's no guarantee it won't end up in the hands of someone else.

[fumps]

My other half's workmate received a ticket with the wrong name on it, he was advised to return the ticket & they would issue a new one with his correct details on it.

Royal mail then lost his new ticket, he was told to come to the outer gates & bring all his details just like Doomz did & yes he received the exact same treatment, they treat him like utter sh*te eventually he convinced them to make the call & they emediatley gave him access.

He was fuming, he had done nothing wrong & still got that treatment.

Doomz i'm chuffed for you mate, being honest & you still got in. nice one mate

[ivan]

the bit in bold is the exact reason why Glastonbury can't work it like this.

perhaps they resourced it properly?

The simple fact is that the festivals in the UK that worked a barcode system last year have dropped it for this year, because last year they staffed the gates at their normal staff numbers and entry took massively longer because of it. While they could have put on more staff so that entrance was at the same speed, that has cost implications, costs they weren't prepared to cover.

[pedmills]

Look people there are only 4 options:

1. Scan all tickets. - but this has been suggested and apparently won't work. Also if a ticket is lost and found by somebody else, who then gets in before you, then you are still stuck.

2. Let in the original purchaser of the ticket, even if they have lost or sold the ticket - but this would mean that in a worse case scenario (everybody sold their ticket to a lookalike) there could be over 300,000 people on site.

3. Make tickets have a better ID than picture (e.g. fingerprint or something of that nature) - would never work, too many problems

4. Get every single person trying to get in to bring in photo ID (passport or driving licence) - only viable option, however people might forget or lose this ID and then be in a similar situation to a lost ticket.

[sifi]

You forgot option number 5. Don't leave your ticket in a place where you idiot flat mate might chuck it - keep it somewhere very safe .....

[Langdale Wolf]

I get the distinct impression that you have taken this stance to give an alternative view of this debate and stir it up a bit (as everyone replying thus far has been sympathetic to his cause).

I know your views do occasionly have a degree of sarcasm which is interpreted as being harsh or rude but on this occasion it does seem a little OTT. I can't imagine if this had happened to you that you would be posting on this forum saying you deserved everything you got beacuse you were stupid enough or unlucky enough to misplace your ticket. Quite the opposite in fact!!

To the OP - good on you for getting in. There are obvious flaws on this subject that needs to be addressed.

[eFestivals]

Why aren't they scanned? Surely this is the best measure to see exactly which tickets are on site?

they're not scanned because of the practicalities of it.

It would require a site-wide computer system that worked without failure at every gate for 100% of the time (99.999% of the time would mean the system was as good as useless).

No one is able to guarantee an always-working computer system. So Glastonbury have chosen to stick with a guaranteed working system.

Everyone loses something from time to time and it's really unfair that the honest folk who do suffer these mishaps suffer because there are lying scum out there waiting to take advantage. Doesn't seem very fair to me, that Glastonbury policy would be so rigid as to have zero sympathy for the genuinely upset or affected.

it's similarly unfair that the festival's whole future would be compromised due to those honest folk who can't take responsibility for what's theirs.

I don't actually see the point of the registration system if they don't trust it enough themselves to believe, when provided with ample evidence, that a person isn't on the scam and is a genuine victim. Be that victim of their own folly or someone elses.

I don't see the point in people buying anything if they're not able to take responsibility for what they buy.

If you lost £1000 on the way back from the bank, whose fault would that be? Why do you think just Glastonbury should work on a different basis to everything else in life?

[Doomz]

And those facts of the matter include the fact that you purchasing a ticket proves zilch in regard to whether that ticket has already been used to allow someone to enter.

[eFestivals]

Then surely you pay for the right of entry, not for the piece of paper, and so by right you have to get what you paid for. If you reserve something through payment, and then lose your reservation receipt, by consumer law you are still entitled to your item.

the right of entry is represented by the ticket. No ticket; no entry.

Yes, it REALLY IS that simple.

[eFestivals]

How many people do you think actually are stupid enough to buy £180 ticket with someone elses face on hoping to get in. Less than 50 surely! I saw about 5 postings on ebay so not a overcrowding argument IMO. If questioned how many of these estimated 50 people would have supporting ID?

Really not an issue to be concerned about such small numbers.

is just breaking the licence numbers a little nit the same as just murdering someone a little bit?

In law it is. Guilty.

That's the simple fact of the matter.

[ivan]

If Prisoners of War managed to distract guards ( who were carrying weapons ) and escape then it is

possible to do it at Glasto.

TBH , early hours , security a bit less tight , if you walked up then suddenly bolted through the gate

if you were quick enough they would not catch you.

[Langdale Wolf]

ebody else, who then gets in before you, then you are still stuck.

2. Let in the original purchaser of the ticket, even if they have lost or sold the ticket - but this would mean that in a worse case scenario (everybody sold their ticket to a lookalike) there could be over 300,000 people on site.

[Prest02000]

So either his mates jibbed him in for free or a random person decided to do it for nothing?

[serginhowardinho]

Firstly:

Nobody should be able to get in with somebody else's ticket. If you lose your ticket but can prove beyond reasonable doubt (as the OP did) that you purchased a ticket, you should be allowed on site. To disallow access is to admit that putting photos on your ticket doesn't work. In which case, why bother?

Therefore:

Making an exception for a tiny number of people who have forgotten tickets on the way (or just before) the festival is a reasonable expectation.

Also:

There was a group of around ten people camped near me who had not paid to be at Glastonbury this year. They'd all been smuggled in by staff from The Park (i'm not saying where as i don't wanna incriminate anyone). I'd much rather see the genuine people who've made an honest mistake be given the opportunity to prove that mistake rather than see a whole group of imposters on site who clearly planned their access like a military operation (as well as taking advantage of their position).

[Messy]

I've not read the thread, but I'd imagine that all ticket holders are on some sort of a database, with the picture they used to register included. Would it not be feasible to have this database accessible to the people at the gates? If people that'd lost tickets turned up with just proof of residence/ID, then it'd be enough to verify that they're valid ticketholders who had not sold their ticket.

[Peevis]

If you lost £1000 on the way back from the bank, whose fault would that be? Why do you think just Glastonbury should work on a different basis to everything else in life?

[eFestivals]

Sorry Efestivals.... are you trying to argue that adverse weather would f**k up a lap top... when they're running a gadzillion different electrical items on site... whilst broadcasting round the world? Don't be absurd? Dedicated software? Bollocks! They have this when you've bought a ticket. Extra delays? Surely folk who have stupidly lost tickets, dogs ate them, house's burnt down with tickets in them... they go to that dedicated date... with that laptop!

f**king hell... these things happen, out of 170k folk, a couple are going to lose tix through human error, general bell endness... it seems fairly simple to implement a system.

the "gadzillion different electrical items on site" are each standalone. Any failure of the broadcasting stuff puts no ones lives at risk as a failure of an entry system might do.

A scanning entry system would have to be networked to each gate, and could not fail.

Well, unless you (say) turned up at Gate C with all your stuff to be told "the system is down, you'll have to go to gate A cos that's the only place it's working", so then you'd have to walk the three miles around to gate A with all your stuff, and then join a queue of 100,000 people all waiting to get in thru that gate, and waited for 24 hours or so while they worked thru those numbers. Would you be happy to do that?

Hopefully, you're now starting to join up the dots, and can see why they've not gone this route.

[cejx]

I've not read the thread, but I'd imagine that all ticket holders are on some sort of a database, with the picture they used to register included. Would it not be feasible to have this database accessible to the people at the gates? If people that'd lost tickets turned up with just proof of residence/ID, then it'd be enough to verify that they're valid ticketholders who had not sold their ticket.

[eFestivals]

it's absolutely intolerable that SeeTickets/Glastonbury are incapable of providing some sort of provisioning for such situations.

unless you're able to suggest a system to them that is as foolproof to fraud as the current system AND which is able to keep working 100% of the time, then it will remain "absolutely intolerable".

I know that Glasto think extremely hard about these things, and are always considering other options. They have the system that they do because it's the only system guaranteed to work.

[cejx]

the "gadzillion different electrical items on site" are each standalone. Any failure of the broadcasting stuff puts no ones lives at risk as a failure of an entry system might do.

A scanning entry system would have to be networked to each gate, and could not fail.

Well, unless you (say) turned up at Gate C with all your stuff to be told "the system is down, you'll have to go to gate A cos that's the only place it's working", so then you'd have to walk the three miles around to gate A with all your stuff, and then join a queue of 100,000 people all waiting to get in thru that gate, and waited for 24 hours or so while they worked thru those numbers. Would you be happy to do that?

Hopefully, you're now starting to join up the dots, and can see why they've not gone this route.

[eFestivals]

if the ticket system is as perfect as e-festivals says, then there is little or no risk of the purchaser of a sold-on ticket getting onto site. so the op as a bona fide ticket buyer should be allowed in upon proof of purchase identity etc.

The system is perfect.

What is not perfect is people operating that system - and Glastonbury are well aware that people are not perfect. Which is why a ticket is needed.

FFS - we've all seen the tickets being sold; some were tried to be sold here. If they're being sold then entrance without a ticket cannot be allowed to happen.

[Bluearsedfly]

is just breaking the licence numbers a little nit the same as just murdering someone a little bit?

In law it is. Guilty.

That's the simple fact of the matter.