The recent controversy of the Olympic Council of Ireland and the allocation of Irish tickets for the Olympics yet again shines a light on ticket touts and the dangers of buying tickets for an event from anyone other than the official ticket seller.
There are so many stories out there of purchasers being let down, disappointed and out of pocket from unscrupulous touts, whether they work on-line or operate physically outside the event venue.
Top reasons to avoid unofficial ticket sellers
- ¨ You have no consumer rights when you buy from a private seller
- ¨ You may not get a refund if the event is cancelled or rescheduled
- ¨ The 14 day ‘Cooling-Off’ period won’t apply with private sellers
- ¨ Your tickets may not be what you ordered— for example, you may have tickets allocated to a standing area rather than seated
- ¨ You are vulnerable to receiving fake tickets
- ¨ You are vulnerable to fraud when paying on-line
- ¨ The ticket seller may not even have tickets to sell
- ¨ The tickets may arrive late
How to protect yourself from scammers
- ¨ Check with the event promoter as to how and when tickets are being distributed
- ¨ Be concerned if the ticket cost is lower than the advertised ticket price
- ¨ Determine if the reseller has a landline in this country and a proper address rather than a PO box
- ¨ Use social media to see if there is adverse criticism of the company
- ¨ Read the terms and conditions (some ticket websites state quite clearly that there are no refunds)
- ¨ Pay for tickets by credit card – the card issuer is jointly liable for a failure for goods or services to be provided up to certain monetary values
- ¨ Check the payment pages are secure by looking for a padlock symbol in the address bar, and making sure the website address begins with ‘https’
- ¨ If you suspect or notice any thing suspicious about a ticket seller please report it
Buy safely!
