My opinions on the reselling of tickets are on record: tickets are property, and if someone wants to sell their property, more power to them. If someone is acting as a professional ticket tout, again, more power to them. Although I’m sure they’re paying income tax on any profits…
As could be expected, then, I’m not impressed with these suggestions. Where a committee of MPs has decreed that such selling should be voluntarily regulated. Because if people don’t do it voluntarily, then they’ll be made to do it. In other forms of doing business, that would be called ‘coercion’, ‘bullying’, ‘threatening behaviour'; for government it’s called ‘Plan A’.
MPs are calling on representatives from all sides to come together to provide a “voluntary solution”.
Mr Whittingdale said that if they failed to reach agreement on such a code, government legislation would be used as “a last resort”.
The committee’s report also said:
* The internet had made it easier for people to profit from selling on tickets. It concluded this was unfair.
* Organisers wanted to protect their industry, saying they could just inflate prices if they wanted to boost profits.
* Organisers should let people get refunds in some circumstances.
* There should be an “across-the-board commitment” that the “distasteful” sale of tickets for free events and charity events – such as Concert for Diana – will be stopped.
* There should be a ban on reselling tickets given free to children or people with disabilities.
Yes, the internet is unfair and people should be discriminated against because they receive something for free. Or that’s my reading of the above, anyway…
Please to note: if you receive something for free that you do not want to use, it is not distasteful to pass it on to someone who is willing to pay for it. It’s common fucking sense; I receive a set amount of time for free: if I choose to receive payment from someone to spend some of that time doing work for them, that’s employment.
All this making money out of your own good (or bad) misfortune is a good thing. How does government get off on deciding otherwise?
My sentiments exactly. The argument that they’re “ripping off” the consumer is flawed, as to be ripped off, you have to have no choice: you have a choice if you want to go to a concert or not, and you have a choice about how much you’re willing to pay.
One thing that really pisses me off about concert tickets is the ‘booking fee’ that they add, and there is no way to avoid it, or the ‘credit card fee’. Say they sell a £50 ticket to you, and charge a £5 booking fee and a £2 CC fee, then the concert is cancelled. How much do you get back? £50.
And don’t get me started about not being able to bring food or drink into many venues with you…
Promotion companies have you every which way.