Local MP Patricia Gibson has welcomed UK Government moves to clamp down on ticket touts, but says they must go further to protect consumers from being ripped off by unscrupulous secondary ticketing platforms.
New rules that came into effect last month make it an offence for online ticket touts to use computer ‘bots’ which allow them to purchase tickets from official sellers faster than members of the public. The legislation also requires ticket resellers to provide information such as the face value of the ticket, identity of the original buyer, exact seat location and any restrictions on the ticket user, such as a minimum age.
Mrs Gibson, the SNP spokeswoman for consumer affairs, said: ‘For far too long now ordinary fans have been locked out of events, or forced to purchase tickets at hugely inflated prices because ticket touts using software buy up all the tickets.’