WeGotTickets responds to Channel 4’s ticketing scandal programme

Ticketing site WeGotTickets has issued a statement following last week’s Channel 4 Dispatches programme, which went undercover inside one of the UK’s biggest ticket reselling websites – viagogo.

Dave Newton, director WeGotTickets, described the programme as “interesting viewing”, applauding Channel 4’s determination to show the documentary despite viagogo’s attempt to put an
injunction on it and Seatwave’s pre-emptive disclaimer.

“It highlighted how certain parts of the live industry have been complicit in these ‘legitimised’ touting practices – agents, promoters and, in many cases, artists themselves,” Newton explained.

“We need to be careful however not to confuse online and secondary ticketing sectors thereby tarring the legitimate electronic ticket vendor with the same brush. The water is muddied by companies like Ticketmaster who, as a primary seller, are happy to dance with the secondary ticketing devil with their ‘Get Me In’ outlet. Also the Concert Promoters Association set up (the quickly defunct) OfficialBoxOffice.com a few years back which was powered by See Tickets. This was their ‘can’t beat them then join them’ reaction to viagogo and Seatwave launching in the UK and taking the touting business that they were previously in control of.

“This is really just a continuation of the promoters-of-old who themselves used to take physical tickets out of the back door of the Box Office and put them in the hands of street touts for cash at a mark-up over face-value.

“At the end of the day we encourage customers to investigate where they’re buying their tickets from, if the company is opaque with their processes and don’t account for their fees or where the ticket comes from then questions should be asked.”

Channel 4 Dispatches programme – The Great Ticket Scandal – alleged that major promoters allocate hundreds and even thousands of tickets to be sold through websites at well above the face value and that viagogo staff compete directly with real fans to buy tickets from primary ticket sellers, like Ticketmaster, for in demand events as soon as they go on sale. To get around systems put in place to prevent bulk buying of tickets, viagogo staff use multiple credit cards registered to different addresses, the programme alleged.

The application for an injunction was brought by viagogo on the grounds of “breach of confidence” and it was dismissed on all counts at the High Court.