Consumers International member, CHOICE, calls for urgent reform of ticket resale industry

Consumers International’s member CHOICE in Australia has today launched its report ‘Sold Out: Consumers and the ticket resale industry’. Generating estimated revenues of over $15 million globally, ticket resale is a fast-growing industry in which tickets for events, bought from licenced sellers, are resold for a new price determined by the secondary seller.

The report draws on consumer case studies collected by CHOICE and Consumer NZ as well as information provided by other Consumers International members across Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Case studies revealed that high prices, hidden fees and lack of clear information were the most widely reported issues that consumers experienced when using ticket resale services.

The study found 79% of fans who found their ticket through a Google search thought they were visiting an official primary ticketing site, not a resale site. Of people reporting ticket problems:

• 11% said their credit cards had been overcharged.
• 11% never even saw their resold tickets.
• 8% said their tickets were fake.
  
  

Based on findings in the report, CHOICE is calling for urgent reform and stronger enforcement of consumer laws to ensure that consumers are adequately protected and fairly treated when dealing with the secondary ticketing market.