UK: Watchdog launches investigation into ticket resellers

Ticket resale websites and the touts who use them could be fined after the competition watchdog launched an investigation into how the best seats are harvested and then sold on at huge mark-ups before fans can buy them at face value.

The Competition and Market Authority said it was examining suspected breaches of consumer law after reviewing the four secondary ticket companies – Viagogo, StubHub, GetMeIn and Seatwave – that sell on previously purchased tickets.

It will examine several areas of concern in the secondary ticketing market, including whether touts use “connections” at resale websites to gain an advantage over fans, such as information that helps them decide which tickets to market aggressively.

The probe follows increasing scrutiny of the sector by MPs concerned about the inflated prices at which tickets are being sold. Earlier this month hundreds of tickets to see Adele next summer appeared on resale websites for up to £9,000, the latest in a string of in-demand events seized on by the UK’s most successful touts.

Full Content: Financial Times

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