Which? kicks rugby ticket scam site into touch 26 August 2015

With one month to go until the start of Rugby World Cup 2015, a new Which? investigation has exposed a scam website re-selling tickets with no guarantee they’ll ever arrive.

Rugby World Cup 2015 is set to start on 18th September and there’s been hot competition to get one of the tournament’s 2.5 million tickets. However, we’ve found one website – GetSporting.com – offering deals that may be too good to be true, selling tickets for sold out matches like England v Australia and England v Wales. According to Which? enquiries into the company’s track record and several online review sites, it appears consumers are unlikely to receive tickets or could even receive fake ones.

Which? believes this site is operating unlawfully and is urging rugby fans looking for a last minute ticket to avoid it.

It is not registered as an official Rugby World Cup 2015 re-selling site and is operating against the ticketing policy for Rugby World Cup 2015, allowing people to buy up to 10 tickets at once instead of the official allowance of four. The law states ticket re-selling sites need to outline to consumers which standing or seating area the tickets relate to and the original face value. GetSporting.com is doing neither of these things.

Its payment methods have also given us cause for concern. It’s offering a discount for people who pay for their tickets through wire transfer but this method of payment means it’s almost impossible to get your money back if something goes wrong. For example, if someone is buying 10 top band Cup Final tickets from the site, they could stand to lose around £18,000.

Which? has tried to contact GetSporting.com but it is yet to respond to our request for a comment. Which? has also been informed that the company never had a physical office at the address that was listed on its website.

We have raised our concerns with Trading Standards and we expect them to take immediate action against the people behind this site to get it shut down. We have helpful advice on our consumer rights website on how people can spot dodgy ticketing sites.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said:

“With fans trying to get last minute tickets to Rugby World Cup 2015, it’s an ideal time for ticket scammers to try to make a fast buck. We expect the authorities to take swift action against dodgy sites and we advise people to keep their wits about them. If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Some other well-known secondary ticket sites, like Seatwave, StubHub and Viagogo, are also not registered as official re-sale agents for Rugby World Cup 2015 and, consequently, tickets bought on these sites may not be accepted. Rugby World Cup 2015 has set up its own tool for people to check whether the site they are buying from is an official registered vendor: rugbyworldcup.com/buyofficial

Notes for editors:

The official site for Rugby World Cup tickets is tickets.rugbyworldcup.com Ticket prices and availability on GetSporting.com were correct as of Friday 21stAugust 2015. We found Band A tickets for the Final at Twickenham Stadium being sold for £1,795 each.

Press Release: Consumer, Consumer Rights, Richard Lloyd, Which?