Touts Start To Fall In Line

Stubhub, Seatwave, Viagogo and Ticketmaster’s Get Me In have agreed to cooperate with the Competition and Markets Authority, the non-government body responsible for overseeing business competition and cutting back anti-competitive activities. T

he new law will likely have come as a bit of a shock to the touts. A couple of votes in the House of Commons showed the government had no appetite for having a clampdown on touts as part of the Consumer Rights Bill, but the House Of Lords twice elected to have the measures restored. The government caved in and allowed the changes, rather than risk the House of Lords voting down the entire bill on its third and crucial reading.

In the lead-up to May’s election, seeing through the bill was more important to the government than standing its ground against the All Party Parliamentary Group that’s been championing at least some sort of curb on the secondary market. The secondary sellers will need to show the face value of the ticket, whether there are entry restrictions and restricted views, and whether the resale contravenes the terms and conditions attached to the ticket.

They’ll also have to provide an email address in case things go wrong. Under the Consumer Rights Bill, ticket sites that don’t adhere to the new law could face fines of up to £5,000. TM, which owns Get Me In and Seatwave, said it would be more transparent although adding that it its websites are already “a safe and secure place for fans to buy and resell tickets.” A spokesman for Viagogo said the company is always happy to listen to recommendations about the way it displays information on its website and will be making changes in due course.