Take That – It Only Takes a Minute to check out a website

Coventry Trading Standards has warned of the risks of buying in demand Take That tickets for their Ricoh Arena concerts at the last minute after receiving concerns over the number of 'unofficial' websites offering tickets for next week’s gigs.

Worried callers from all over the country have been in touch with the Ricoh Arena after paying for tickets through ‘unofficial’ website ticket distributors and having then been asked to collect them from the venue ahead of the start of the gigs.

Coventry Trading Standards is concerned that some people will turn up at the Ricoh Arena on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday expecting to collect their tickets and will be left disappointed.

There are many legitimate secondary sellers who will sell tickets and ensure customers get their tickets. However, some don’t and it's almost impossible to spot a rogue trader until it is too late.

Tim Thorne, Herefordshire Council’s principal trading standards officer, said: “We regularly receive complaints from disappointed consumers who have failed to receive concert tickets after booking on unofficial websites. Consumers should only ever book through authorised agents, if you don't you may well be ripped off.

“It's vital that people research online before buying to see if other people have complained about a company. The best place to start is the official website for the band or venue. They will usually have links to companies they use to sell tickets on their behalf."

"The unofficial agencies have professional websites, appear high on Google searches, often have a phone number to speak to their staff, and look legitimate. This makes it very difficult to tell the difference.

"Unfortunately taking action against such sites is not easy. Most of the websites are based and hosted outside the UK and the EU. Any offences committed will be dependent on whether consumers get their tickets, something that is impossible to predict until after the event," he added.

Stephen Ebanks, ticketing manager at the Ricoh Arena, said: “We are concerned about the number of calls that we have received from fans that have paid for tickets and were wanting to know where to collect them.

“We have no facilities for fans to collect tickets that have been bought and paid for from unofficial websites.

“The three concerts here are now sold out. Anyone who has bought tickets from official websites should have received their tickets and if they haven’t, they should contact the customer service department of the distributor.”

Trading Standards has issued the following advice to consumers to look for if they are concerned about purchasing from an online source:

• Does the website advertise a UK registered office address? If you cannot find an address, DON'T USE THE SITE. If there is an address, where is the company based? The UK? Abroad? Never rely on just an email address.
• Read the terms and conditions in full to see what you and the trader are committing to. Sometimes they are there simply to add legitimacy to the site and when read it becomes obvious that the trader is not actually committing to anything. 
• Pay by credit card, even if there is a small surcharge. For transactions over £100 you have added protection. If the company disappears, or you don't get your tickets, you may receive a refund from your credit card company. 
• If purchasing tickets from an unofficial ticket agent, do they display the "face value" of the ticket, even if they are charging more than this. It is a good idea to check the event details with the official venue/promoter first.
• Save and print out all information relating to the transaction. 
• Finally, if purchasing online ensure that the website is secure. Look for websites that have an encryption facility with a web address starting with https:// (the 's' stands for 'secure'). There should be a padlock at the bottom of the screen when you are filling in the payment details.

Anyone who has paid for a ticket from an 'unofficial’ website and has not received their ticket should contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.