Buying Tickets

Every music and sports fan knows that often, tickets for gigs, festivals, big games and tournaments sell out very quickly. To avoid disappointment, you might turn to social media, online marketplaces or fan forums to look for tickets. You may get lucky, or you may get scammed, which is even more disappointing as not only do you miss out on tickets, you also lose your hard-earned money.

In a ticket scam,the seller tells you they’ll post or email the tickets as soon as you’ve transferred the money to their bank account. But when you try to contact them after nothing’s arrived, they’ve disappeared into thin air. Chances are, dozens of other people have fallen victim to the same fraud.

This happens to thousands of music, sports and other fans in the UK every year who get tricked into buying fake or non-existent tickets.

Your top tips for buying tickets safely

However desperate you are to get into a gig, festival or game, don’t buy tickets from anyone apart from official vendors, the box office or reputable fan reseller sites.
Buy tickets only from the venue’s box office, sports club, promoter, official agent or reputable ticket exchange sites.
Consider that tickets advertised on any other source such as auction sites, social media and fan forums may be fake or non-existent, however authentic the seller may seem and whether they’re advertised below, above or at face value.
Don’t be tempted to click on social media, text or email links or attachments offering tickets, as they could link to fraudulent or malware sites.
Paying for tickets by bank transfer – however desperate you are to get hold of them – could result in you losing your money if it’s a fraud. The responsibility for losses lies with you, not anybody else, including your bank.
Check sellers’ privacy and returns policies.
Consider paying by credit card to get additional protection over other payment methods.
Double-check all details of your purchase before confirming payment.
Before buying online, check that the page is genuine (carefully enter the address yourself, not from a link) and secure (‘https’ and a locked padlock), and log out when you’ve completed the transaction. You could check if a website is likely to be legitimate or fraudulent at www.getsafeonline.org/checkawebsite
Keep receipts until after the event.
If you are also searching and booking accommodation, follow our advice on doing so safely and securely.