Resale websites are ripping off fans with inflated tickets prices

FANS are being forced to buy concert tickets at an inflated price off scalpers who are taking advantage of unrestricted resale websites.

Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil performs on stage at the MCG. Picture: Lucas Dawson/Getty Images

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FANS are being forced to buy concert tickets at an inflated price off scalpers who are taking advantage of unrestricted resale websites.

Consumer group Choice have lodged a complaint with the ACCC, calling out websites Viagogo and Ticketmaster Resale for facilitating fraudulent and dodgy ticket sales.

“Ticket resellers really need to clean up their act,” Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said.

“They are making seriously dishonest claims by saying they’re the official site or that they have the cheapest tickets available.

“They’re questionable at best.”

As recently as last week, Midnight Oil fans were left outraged when tickets sold out on TicketMaster’s main site within minutes, only to appear shortly afterwards on the resale site at hugely inflated prices.

Tickets for Justin Beiber’s Melbourne show were sold at inflated prices.

University student Kellee Ryan said she will miss out on Justin Beiber’s Melbourne show on Friday night because the seats available on Tickmaster Resale were far too expensive.

“My friends and I just couldn’t get tickets in the public sale so we turned to resales,” she said.

“Although the tickets we wanted were originally $180, the cheapest we could see immediately after they sold out were $250, others were even selling in the thousands.

“It’s just ridiculous that people can buy multiple tickets and sell them for a profit, meaning students and people who have a low income are unfairly missing out.”

Coldplay tickets he bought on Ticketmaster Resale last year for $320 were actually worth only $70 each. Picture: AFP Photo/Getty Images

Point Cook’s Colin Ribbons was also left gobsmacked when he discovered two Coldplay tickets he bought on Ticketmaster Resale last year for $320 were actually worth only $70 each.

It is understood Ticketmaster gets a 21 per cent commission for any resale tickets sold, while Viagogo takes in about 28 per cent.

The Choice investigation comes after the Herald Sun reported Viagogo was charging footy fans an additional $50 on top of their tickets to cover booking, handling and international transfer fees.

Ticketmaster said they operated a “safe and secure” marketplace where fans could buy tickets, backed by a guarantee.

However, they said it was the responsibility of the seller to set the price.

Choice said concertgoers should never assume the first Google result is the official ticketing page and that artist or venue pages generally listed authorised ticket outlets and sites.

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