Christina Jordon explains how to make sure those tickets you've purchased online are completely legitimate
Ripping people off by setting up a fake website and flogging fake goods is the lowest of the low and anyone who has been the victim of such a crime will know just how terrible it feels.
Imagine planning a great night out at a gig or the theatre only to be turned away at the door because your tickets are fake, phony, duds, worthless pieces of paper posted to you by an unscrupulous shyster.
You not only miss out on the event you were looking forward to, you also lose your money, with little chance of finding the culprit. And on top of everything is the frustration that you were scammed.
Some people never even get to that stage. The tickets simply don't arrive and they can't get in touch with those who sold them because the phone numbers were fake. And by that time it's often too late to buy a genuine ticket.
Yes, being scammed with fake tickets is a thoroughly miserable experience but unfortunately it's one that is increasing rapidly.
New research by the Office of Fair Trading shows that one in five people knows someone who has bought tickets to a music, sport or theatre event from a scam ticket website, and one in 12 ticket buyers has been caught out themselves -- losing an average of £80 each.
Melvin Benn, head of Festival Republic -- which organises the Reading And Leeds Festivals -- stated that 5,000 people were turned away from the festivals alone last year, because their tickets weren't valid.
Fighting back
But the police are starting to hit back at the scammers. In August more than 100 football ticket scam websites were closed down ahead of the start of the season following a series of raids across the world.
And the Office of Fair Trading's Consumer Direct arm has launched a campaign to increase consumer awareness about these ticket scams and how to best avoid them.
The 'Just tick it' campaign is being launched nationally today, providing consumers with a ticklist of key questions to ask before buying tickets online.
So what should you check?
Just Tick It
How has the website got the tickets to sell?
Is the site making claims that sound too good to be true? Are they selling tickets to events that haven't gone on sale yet, or guaranteeing you tickets to events that have been sold out for months?
Check with the venue to find out when tickets are being released for sale and when the tickets will be sent out.
What do you know about the website?
Check where the website is registered and who to, as well as how long it has been registered? You can search for domain name registrant information using an online search tool, such as www.whois.com and www.nominet.org.uk (for.uk domain names).
What are others saying about the website?
Search the internet to find out what other people's experiences have been.
Always check for feedback, both positive and negative. Enter the website name into a search engine or go onto fan forums and ask the question 'has anyone bought tickets from this company?'
How can you contact the company?
Where is their office? Companies must supply the full geographic address where their business is established, not just a P.O. Box or mailbox number. Check out the address using a search engine -- you can often find out if it is just a mail forwarding service.
How can you contact them? Do they have a landline number in the UK? Does this number work -- check it before you buy the tickets? Be wary if they only supply you with an email address or mobile phone number.
Can they provide ticket details?
Ensure that the face value of the tickets and the seat location are clearly listed.
What type of seat/ticket are you buying? What is the face value of the ticket? How much is the ticket being sold for and are there any additional charges? When will the ticket be dispatched and how will you be notified?
Do they provide refunds?
Make sure there is a refund policy in case something goes wrong.
Protect yourself
Pay for tickets by credit card. Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the card issuer is jointly liable for the failure to provide goods or services provided that the cash price of a single ticket is over £100 (but not more than £30,000).
When booking online check that the payment pages are secure by looking for a padlock symbol or making sure the website address begins with an https prefix.
Always print out a copy of your order and a copy of the acknowledgement you should receive from the company.
What if you do get scammed?
Report the incident to the police and get a crime reference number, then advise the website's Internet Service Provider that you have reported the matter to the police.
After that, make sure you help others -- broadcast it far and wide to make sure they don't make the same mistake by writing online reviews of both dodgy and genuine ticket websites.
Once your money has been taken it can be very difficult to get it back, however you might be able to make a claim from your credit card provider or insurance company.
If you paid by debit card you are not covered by section 75 and there is no legal obligation on the card provider to reimburse you.
However you may have fraud protection on your account, particularly if you have a premium packaged current account. Or you may be able to ask for money back under the 'chargeback' procedure operated by members of the Visa and MasterCard schemes - speak to your bank to see if this is possible.
You should also check your home insurance policy, as some have clauses covering fraud protection, and make sure you report any scamming incident to Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.
The scammers will go to great lengths to trick us out of our hard-earned cash. It's up to us to stop them being successful.