UK GOVERNMENT MUST ACT NOW TO DETER TICKET TOUTS

SNP Consumer Affairs spokesperson Patricia Gibson MP has accused ticket touts of ‘deliberately misleading consumers', forcing fans to fork out hugely inflated sums to see their favourite performers and show.

The UK Government must act now to deter the touts.

The comments followed reports of a huge surge in ticket demand for the forthcoming Britney Spears UK tour, which crashed the on-line booking system leaving many fans disappointed. Mrs Gibson urged the UK government to prevent touts from using software to obtain tickets from primary sellers' online sites to sell them on at inflated prices.

The North Ayrshire & Arran MP also pressed the UK Government to look at the feasibility of capping the ticket resale value to deter extreme profiteering at fans’ expense.

Commenting Patricia said:

“This is just the latest example of how touts are ripping off ordinary fans and making huge profits at their expense by buying up tickets as soon as they go on sale.

“The UK Government, to which powers are reserved in this area, must act now to deter and prevent this kind of profiteering, including examining the feasibility of capping the resale value of tickets, with further measures to restrict the use of the software touts use to harvest swathes of tickets to resell.

“When consumers purchase tickets from touts, it is vital that they make fully informed choices. Secondary ticketing platforms and sellers must comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and provide essential information such as the face value of the ticket, seat location, and any restrictions.

“Too many consumers are currently being exploited with tickets for events grabbed up by touts within minutes and then resold at sky high rates. More needs to be done to protect consumers.”