An inquiry into the activities of Britain?s ticket agents has raised concerns about sharp practice in the £580m a year industry.
Fees charged by agents and a lack of ticket pricing clarity have been identified by an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation as being a threat to consumer rights. The inquiry, launched last June following a number of consumer complaints, examined the activities of both primary agents such as Ticketmaster UK and secondary agents including touts. The OFT found no evidence of agents and promoters operating as a cartel, but some agents were found to be in breach of consumer legislation with regard to fees, contracts and price information. Nearly one third of bookers questioned expressed surprise at the level of fees agents added to ticket prices. 54,000 complaints were made to agents about industry practice in 2003 alone.
Sir John Vickers, OFT Chairman, said, ?Clearer price information and the elimination of unfair contract terms would improve choice and value for the public.? Currently, agents are not required to provide pricing information on advertising materials, leaving consumers unaware of ticket prices and additional fees until the point of sale. The OFT has recommended to the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP), which sets industry standards, that ticket prices and fees should be displayed on all print advertising. While the report found ?evidence of non-compliance with a range of consumer legislation by both primary and secondary agents,? the strongest criticisms are reserved for secondary ticket agents. The report cites instances of customers not receiving pre-paid tickets or of being misled about seat location. It also advises consumers to be wary of buying tickets from websites such as eBay (e-touting), but OFT argues that current legislation is robust enough to deal with these abuses.
The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) welcomed the OFT?s decision to clamp down on the resale and touting of tickets and announced its intention to lobby the Government for changes in the law to target e-touts. Jonathan Brown, Secretary of STAR said, ?We are becoming increasingly concerned at the levels of malpractice, misrepresentation and old-fashioned rip-offs that are being generated in the secondary ticketing market, particularly via the Internet? We particularly support the recommendation from the OFT that... consumers are made aware of the face value of a ticket before deciding to purchase. This is in line with representations made by STAR to CAP last November.? Phil Evans, Principal Policy Adviser for Which? described the OFT conclusions as appearing ?to strike a sensible balance on ensuring consumers get information they need without imposing huge costs on the sector. ...the OFT work with STAR agencies on fairer contracts is also very welcome. It is also the sort of thing the industry should have dealt with some time ago ? but was unlikely to do without some external pressure.?