Safeconcerts is as much about concert safety as other aspects of the concert and festival scene, we think that includes the rising scandal of ticket scams that are currently fleecing people to the tune of thousands of pounds. We have been inundated with contacts from people who have been caught out by these scams and so have decided to put some basic information together to help ensure that you don't get caught out.

The rising popularity of the live music industry in recent years has been meteoric, this is very good news for the music industry as a whole, great for the artists and brilliant for music fans who are getting a wealth of top class entertainment in a variety of  settings, there’s now more on offer than ever before and it’s growing.

To date unscrupulous ticket scammers have been able to fleece the public, almost with complete impunity with very few consequences for them even if they are caught out.

There’s a darker, seedier side that’s been emerging over the past couple of years and it’s going largely unchecked. The secondary ticket market is huge, it’s growing all the time and it’s a very lucrative side of the business, scratch just beneath the surface however and you’ll find that this is a very convenient place for criminals to hide having found themselves a very supportive and happy little home. To date unscrupulous ticket scammers have been able to fleece the public, almost with complete impunity - with very few consequences for them even if they are caught out.

With such a rapidly increasing rise in the popularity of live music the ticket market has been ripe, ready and primed for this sort of exploitation, and the people being exploited? ordinary music fans who just want the experience of seeing their musical heroes at a live show be that at a gig, festival or stadium concert.

It isn’t just about the money for those caught out, it’s about the heartbreak of missing the gig, many have paid top prices for special seats as presents for friends and loved ones, these gigs are special and they are being ruined as the shady characters with hidden identities move in for the kill, make no mistake about it this is causing a good deal of heartbreak.

it’s also about the heartbreak of missing the gig, many have paid top prices for special seats as presents for friends and loved ones

Ticket touts have always been a problem but the old image of the sleazy ticket tout hanging about outside gigs has changed beyond recognition, they have a new weapon in their armoury and it’s a good one. The internet has become the place to buy your tickets these days, if you know who to buy from it’s a safe transaction, unfortunately many fans don’t know who to buy from safely and as a result scam ticket sites have been quick to spot the potential and are springing up at an alarming rate. The internet is an area that is largely unpoliced and while authorities are well aware of the criminal activities occurring on line they have shown a remarkable reluctance to act to protect the ticket buying public.

This is a scandal that has been allowed to thrive and develop and it’s worth billions of pounds, it’s a scandal that isn’t reflected adequately in crime statistics because the authorities who should be monitoring it are failing to get to grips with or recognise the magnitude of the problem, they simply aren’t listening to the people who are the victims of this crime. To an extent it could be said that this makes them complicit, there’s little excuse for the failings, it’s been highlighted time and again, they’ve had ‘ticket tout’ summits, meetings and more, but still the situation hasn’t changed and fans continue to be fleeced on a regular basis.

Ticket touts have always been a problem but the old image of the sleazy ticket tout hanging about outside gigs has changed beyond recognition

The lack of official recognition about the range and scope of ticket irregularities, coupled with a reluctance to act is making it ever more difficult for members of the ticket buying public to purchase tickets safely.  The lack of awareness and interest in putting in measures to deal with these issues therefore results in criminal offences going unrecorded and undetected in the crime stats, criminals are able to hide behind the anonymity of the internet with ease.

We do advise you to report it to the police if you have been caught out, we understand that the lack of knowledge among authorities means that some of you are having difficulty making a report and obtaining a crime number, do not be put off by the reluctance to accept your complain – insist – our understanding is that fraud is still a crime.  By not accepting these reports it’s a scandal that can be swept under the carpet, it also means that the under reporting and recording of these offences is significant – that needs to change. Currently authorities have little real idea of the scale and the scope of the problem; it’s up to you to make sure they are left in no doubt that this is something that’s widespread, it’s happening to you and you are no longer prepared to tolerate it.

You should also report it to Consumer Direct, these offences need to be brought to the attention of the Office of Fair Trading, those that have the power to make changes will continue to ignore or simply pay lip service until you make it known that you want action, the best way to do that? Show them the extent of the problem, make them record it.

We can’t simply stand by and wait for the authorities to act while they continue to display such reluctance, so while we hope they get their act together and put in proper measures to help protect the ticket buying public from these scams it’s clear that the ticket buying public need to know a bit more about how to purchase tickets safely and avoid the pain of losing money and worse, not getting those tickets.

Our advice remains the same as always, we do not recommend buying from the secondary market because it’s within the secondary market that the ticket touts are able to lurk, it’s very easy to be caught out. As things currently stand we can only recommend buying from primary ticket sites where there is some protection in place.

This really is a ‘buyer beware’ economy, ticket buyers need to become much more aware of the pitfalls and dangers out there, every time you buy a ticket from a non legitimate source you are making it easier for touts to thrive and criminals to operate. OK – we know we live in the real world where tickets sell out in the blink of an eye, so while we don’t recommend them we’ll also tell you what to look out for if you do decide to go down the secondary ticket route.

This really is a ‘buyer beware’ economy, ticket buyers need to become much more aware of the pitfalls and dangers out there

Do remember that tickets touts are clever, they are experts when it comes to fleecing the public, they make their sites look legitimate; they use logo’s from legitimate sites and make the scam sites appear to be linked to main events. Can you avoid being taken for a mug?

We think you can, but you need to know what to look out for and the purpose of this area of the safeconcerts site is to provide you with a few guidelines so that you can make sure you’re not among the thousands getting fleeced on line.