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Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 5 November 2014.

Ticket Touting

Question

My Lords, Operation Podium argues, and the Government need to accept, that ticket fraud is usually,

“committed by organised criminal networks … creating legitimate-looking websites, taking payment for event tickets and then failing to supply them.”

That is the fact, but what is perhaps not realised as often is that many people who suffer from that ticket fraud then discover they are also subject to a scam which means that their credit card details are used again and again, so they are doubly hit. What sort of balance does the Minister find in that?

Answer

The noble Lord is right to express concerns but I think the House needs to understand that we have brought in new regulations as recently as June, and been working with the online marketplaces so that consumers are protected. The four main resale sites now go way beyond what they used to do. They are refunding or replacing unusable tickets and working with the RFU and all the other sporting bodies to make sure that things are okay. I saw the RFU yesterday and was very impressed by the action it is taking for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in using anti-forgery designs and a ballot system. We have to make progress in the real world, where consumers want to get tickets and attend games and concerts.

Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
756 c1615 
Session
2014-15
Oral question type
Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Touting Tickets
Link
View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk