Why won’t you blacklist supertouts?
The burning question for tight-lipped ticket giants who allow chancers to flout rules and make a killing from music fans
TICKET giants Ticketmaster are under growing pressure to blacklist Andrew Newman and other shameless touts.
A Daily Record investigation has revealed how supertout Newman rips off ordinary fans by using accounts in the names of his family and friends, plus several variations of his own name, to buy up huge blocks of concert tickets.
He then flogs them at vastly inflated prices on resale sites such as Get Me In! and Seatwave. Both sites are owned by Live Nation – the parent company of Ticketmaster.
We have warned Ticketmaster about Newman, and have told them about 10 accounts on their own system which he uses to buy tickets.
But they have failed to ban him. They say they have no evidence he is breaking the law.
Newman is one of the top sellers on Get Me In! The site can make more than 30 times the original commission on ticket resales after the greedy touts have taken their cut.
Members of the Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport committee, who are looking into the activities of touts, turned up the heat on Ticketmaster over Newman yesterday.
Tory Nigel Adams said: “Given that Mr Newman is well known as a tout, Ticketmaster need to answer the Record’s questions as to why he and his family still appear to be able to buy tickets for resale and why he has not been blacklisted.”
The SNP’s John Nicolson added: “Ticketmaster say they have rules to protect consumers. Why are they refusing to enforce their own rules?
“The case for a change in the law is becoming increasingly clear.”
Anti-touting campaign group the Fan Fair Alliance said Newman’s case proved the need for Government action. Ticketmaster sell seats on behalf of concert promoters, who typically limit the number each customer can buy.
The limit for Jess Glynne’s tour this summer is eight per person. But when we checked Get Me In!, Newman’s company North Financial Group were holding scores.
The ticket sale terms and conditions, which are typical, say Ticketmaster can cancel all the orders of any person found to be exceeding the limit. They have not done so in Newman’s case.
We gave evidence to the culture committee about the activities of touts such as Newman, and the MPs have quizzed Ticketmaster chief executive Chris Edmonds.
They asked him about touts’ use of “bots” – computer software used to buy up large blocks of tickets.
Edmonds said Ticketmaster had a zero tolerance approach, but then revealed he only knew of one case where someone had been banned from the site for using a bot.
Committee chairman Damian Collins suggested his attitude to enforcing existing laws was “extraordinarily complacent”.
Newman has refused to tell us if he uses bots. As well as the culture committee’s inquiry, the Competition and Markets Authority and the taxman are investigating the activities of touts.