(UK) Industry warned over ticket touts (scalping)

Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to keep track of this story. Tessa Jowell is not doing a very good job of getting people to pitch in on this just by nudging. She needs to hit promoters in the pocket or nothing will change.

When tickets went on sale for shows on Morrissey's recent UK tour, many people complained on http://morrissey-solo.com/ (a fan site) that tickets were being offered on the UK eBay almost as soon as the shows sold out (which was within minutes, typically).

Scalping is so much worse in London than it is in NYC

It's not so much that the touting (scalping) is so awful, it's the GAMES that these touting agents play. Eg; you can call & ask questions ie: are the seats together? - assigned (not open). If you are stupid like me you don't ask if their categories correspond to the arena's categories. They lie about everything regardless of what you ask. They charge at least 147% on top of the face value of the ticket. If you think you're getting the category of the venue that would be maybe 75% above face value. Yes, as another person said, it is much worse in the UK than the US.

Anyone travelling to Europe. If you see anything leading to onlineticketshop.nl - may also be called budgettickets. AVOID them, steer clear, they are scam artists, they will screw you.