Ticketmaster closes down secondary ticketing sites

● Outlets had been criticised for selling briefs at highly inflated prices

Two secondary ticketing sites run by Ticketmaster are to be shut down later this year following criticism over inflated pricing by touts.

The ticketing giant said its Seatwave and Get Me In sites, which allow concertgoers to sell on unwanted tickets “just don’t cut it anymore”, adding that consumers have become “tired of seeing others snap up tickets just to resell for a profit”.

The sites, along with other similar outlets, have been criticised by fans and artists because tickets were often sold for prices multiple times the original price of the ticket.

In May, former Runrig keyboard player Pete Wishart called on politicians to tackle Britain’s secondary ticketing “crisis” after revealing than he was inundated with complaints from fans when tickets for the Scottish band with which he no longer performs - went on sale on tout websites within minutes of their release.

The ticket-selling company, which will cull Seatwave and Get Me In across Europe in October, will instead launch a fan-to-fan ticket exchange system, where people can buy or sell tickets through its website or app at the price originally paid or less.

There will also be no new events listed on either site, Ticketmaster said.

Consumer groups, which have long campaigned to crackdownonsecondarysales sites, welcomed the move.

Alex Neill, managing director of home products and services for Which?, said: “We have repeatedly exposed secondary ticketing websites, including Seatwave and Get Me in, for flouting the rules, so it’s good to see Ticketmaster taking positive action.

“It sounds like a step in the right direction for fans and we now hope its new platform will promote much-needed transparency in an industry that has been plagued by sharp practices.”

In May, ticket resale site Viagogo was referred to Trading Standards for its failure to make changes to misleading pricing information on its website.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said Viagogo, a Geneva-based firm not owned by Ticketmaster, was continuing to mislead consumers by not being upfront and clear about additional booking fees and delivery charges added at the end of the booking process.

The company was one of four who were subject to ASA action in March after a clampdown on “misleading” pricing information.

Stubhub and Ticketmaster’s Seatwave and Get Me In were the other three companies subject to the action against so-called “drip pricing” - where VAT, booking and delivery fees were added at the end of the booking process.

However, the ASA said Via-

0 Former Runrig member Pete Wishart has called for action on ticket touts

gogo failed to meet its May 29 deadline to make the necessary changes to its website, and it is currently under investigation.

Andrew Parsons, managing director of Ticketmaster UK, said: “Our number one priority is to get tickets into the hands of fans so that they can go to the events they love.

“We know that fans are tired of seeing tickets being snapped up just to find them being resold for a profit on secondary websites, so we have taken action.

“Closing down our secondary sites and creating a ticket exchange on Ticketmaster has always been our long-term plan.”