Soaring ticket prices and apparently fake seats have sparked rip-off warnings over next month’s Rugby World Cup.
Consumer group Which? says some ticket re-sale websites, such as StubHub and Viagogo, do not have official approval from the event’s organisers – and sport fans could find their tickets are not accepted as a result.
It also advised against using the website GetSporting.com all together, which it says is offering deals that seem ‘too good to be true’. The message will alarm thousands who have used ticket re-sale firms after struggling to get seats for the event, which starts on September 18, through official channels.
Prices on the StubHub website have reached extraordinary levels, with one user selling two tickets for the final at the end of October for a total of £59,000.
Meanwhile deals on Viagogo include two tickets for the final for £20,589. It said the original face value is between £300 and £1,430. However the Consumer Rights Act allows governing bodies to cancel tickets if they feel they are being sold in breach of terms and conditions. This could, in theory, be used to stop people who buy from non-approved sources getting in to the matches.
Which? believes that GetSporting.com simply does not have the tickets it is advertising. ‘[It is] selling tickets for sold-out matches,’ the group said. ‘Based on our own inquiries, it appears consumers are unlikely to receive tickets or could even receive fake ones. We believe this site is operating unlawfully and urge fans to avoid it.’
A spokesman for Viagogo said it is legal to re-sell tickets if the face value and location of the seats are made clear. He added anyone buying a ticket from Viagogo ‘will get into the event’. Nick Harford from StubHub, which is owned by eBay, said: ‘In the unlikely event there is an issue, StubHub will replace the tickets or refund the payment in full.’
Anthony Cheriton, who set up the company behind GetSporting.com, did not respond to requests for comment. – Daily Mail