fifteenth Could 2025
Studying Time: 8 minutes
The summer season is at all times a riot in relation to leisure. From native outside festivals to large occasions like Glastonbury, there’s a ton of enjoyable available within the sunny months. Nevertheless, tickets could be costly – and that additionally makes it simple to get sucked in by ticket scams. Discover ways to get monetary savings in your summer season leisure tickets with out being fooled by ticket scams.
Consider Cashback Sites to Save
Why Ticket Costs Rocket
There was an enormous hoo-haa when Taylor Swift, Harry Types, and bands like BlackPink have been revealed to make use of one thing known as ‘dynamic pricing’. Because of this the extra folks which can be attempting to purchase the tickets, the upper the value would rise. Whereas some artists denied permitting this technique was their selection, utilizing verified ticket retailers that do that (like Ticketmaster) could be seen as implicit settlement to utilizing dynamic pricing in ticket gross sales.
What this implies for you, the client, is that you simply may need budgeted round £300 for a pair of live performance tickets for the one you love’s particular birthday. You sit within the ticket queue ready for them to be launched… after which these tickets now price £600! And, as a result of dwell music has die-hard followers, there are lots of who will take the hit on the upper worth as a result of the expertise is a once-in-a-lifetime likelihood for them.
There aren’t any guidelines in opposition to dynamic pricing within the UK. And whereas it’s purported to be a technique to ‘cease touts and provides extra again to artists’, what it’s really doing is pushing second-hand ticket gross sales by means of the roof at even greater costs. And the individuals who can afford to purchase these tickets to resell? They’re typically the ticket touts this technique is designed to cease.
Use a Verified Retailer
So, how will you ensure you’re not a sufferer of ticket scams? Nicely, sadly, some venues and a few artists will solely use a single ticket gross sales outlet like Ticketmaster. This implies you may solely formally purchase a ticket by means of them. Whereas it provides you some purchaser safety, for instance if the live performance is cancelled you may declare a refund, it does restrict your choices.
Nevertheless, utilizing a verified retailer is way safer than shopping for tickets second-hand from public sale websites or your native Fb Market. Many tickets aren’t transferable to others, and must be bought again to the unique ticket vendor company if the customer can now not attend. Because of this the ticket you’ve purchased from Mr. Mysterious down the native pub may not allow you to contained in the venue, and also you gained’t have any recourse for a refund from him both.
Whereas utilizing a verified retailer means you need to pay the value they set, you do get purchaser protections. In addition they have resale platforms that are official, so if you want to resell your ticket you are able to do so correctly with out risking shedding your cash or getting scammed.
Frequent Ticket Scams : The Final Minute One
Ticket scams additionally come within the type of ‘final minute’ gross sales – somebody says they’ll’t make it on the final minute, however you may meet them on the venue to get the ticket off them if you happen to ship them money to ‘reserve’ it first.
Once more, tickets are often for the customer solely – however even when they aren’t, assembly a stranger to get a ticket isn’t going to finish effectively (and so they often gained’t even flip up). In the event that they do flip up, they may demand extra cash from you earlier than handing the (dud) ticket over.
Frequent ticket web sites embrace TicketMaster, LiveNation, See Tickets and StubHub. TicketSwap and ViaGoGo are verified ticket reseller web sites. TicketSwap caps resale costs at 20% above face worth to keep away from ticket scams.
Get Cashback on Tickets
We speak about cashback websites rather a lot on Moneymagpie – and for good cause! It’s an effective way to basically get a reduction on something you should buy by means of them. Whenever you’re shopping for a gig or competition ticket, that would quantity to a pleasant chunk of change again in your pocket, for doing nothing!
All you want to do is signal as much as a cashback website and discover the ticket gross sales web site by means of it. So, if you happen to use TopCashBack, you’d log in and search ‘TicketMaster’ or take a look at the ‘Tickets and Occasions’ class to discover a ticket gross sales retailer that provides you with cashback. Click on the hyperlink and purchase as regular – simply bear in mind to pick out ‘enable all cookies’ while you get to the ticket web site, as this implies your buy will likely be tracked by the cashback website. It wants to do that so it will possibly pay you the correct amount of cashback.
Going by means of a cashback website is one other option to keep away from tickets scams as you’ll be assured to solely go to a verified ticket retailer.
Frequent Ticket Scams: The Money Solely Supply
If you happen to assume you’re on a verified retailer website, however you need to pay by financial institution switch or accumulate with money in individual, STOP!
Paying in your tickets on a credit score or debit card provides you consumer protections if one thing goes mistaken – whether or not that’s since you’ve been scammed, or as a result of the live performance has been cancelled, or related. Your financial institution or card supplier has an obligation to you beneath these safety legal guidelines to make sure a refund is processed – however if you happen to pay by financial institution switch or money, you don’t get this safety.
Search for Companion Tickets
If in case you have a incapacity, you can be entitled to a free companion ticket for occasions. The Cinema Companion Card is a nationally-recognised scheme, for instance. Theatre venues can even typically supply companion seats, although you want to purchase by means of the venue on to ebook.
For stadium occasions, some ticket websites could have disabled seats with companion seats, however bear in mind: typically, this implies an empty house subsequent to a seat, as a result of the idea is that the disabled individual wants house for a wheelchair. Whereas this feels very inclusive, it clearly excludes a whole lot of disabled folks (comparable to those that require mobility aids however want to sit down down for lengthy intervals of time). Examine prematurely with a venue about their disabled seating preparations, and whether or not they supply free or discounted companion tickets.
Frequent Ticket Scams: Scattered Seats
You may assume you’ve discovered an incredible group ticket take care of an enormous low cost on seats for the theatre or a gig… however while you get the tickets, you realise they’re single seats all through the venue and also you’re not going to be sitting with your pals.
Scammers that do that supply engaging group reductions, typically utilizing social media posts that hyperlink to what seems like an official web site, as a result of single seats at venues are at all times lowered. So, they purchase all the only seats up in a present and promote them to you as a gaggle bundle. If you wish to go together with a gaggle that’s bigger than the utmost ticket allowance on the verified ticket retailer, contact the venue straight to rearrange reductions.
Save Cash on Live performance Tickets
There are just a few extra methods you may attempt to economize on shopping for a ticket in your favorite artist’s world tour or one of many massive music festivals this summer season.
Signal As much as Mailing Lists
Search for the occasion mailing checklist AND the artist mailing lists. Arrange a brand new e mail tackle only for these, if you happen to don’t need to get a whole lot of additional spam. These newsletters will let you know how one can get monetary savings with group reductions, provide the likelihood to win tickets and VIP experiences, and likewise ensure you’re the primary to know when tickets will go on sale.
Examine Your Cellphone Supplier
It sounds unusual, however some cell phone suppliers give you the prospect to economize on live performance and competition tickets, in addition to leisure just like the theatre, for his or her clients. O2 Precedence is a widely known instance, ensuring clients get unique entry to some presales and different presents.
Use Loyalty Scheme Factors
Do you know that you can earn loyalty factors to spend in your dream competition or live performance ticket year-round? Loyalty schemes like Virgin Red mean you can just do that.
American Express clients may do one thing related, with unique entry to specially-reserved seats at every kind of experiences and leisure nights.
Attending to and from festivals and live shows additionally typically entails a whole lot of journey. Be sure to’re utilizing your Tesco Clubcard or your Nectar factors to economize on the journey and lodging in your gig weekend.
Try LNER Perks App
Even if you happen to don’t use LNER trains to journey, you may nonetheless join the LNER perks app. Why would you try this? As a result of till July 2024, you may get 30% off an annual ATG membership, ranging from £35. If you happen to’re a frequent gig or theatre goer, this membership provides you with advance entry to tickets and particular costs, so the annual charge may simply pay for itself inside a few occasions.
And if you happen to do use LNER to journey by practice, you can too reap the benefits of the free £5 credit score to spend on an LNER journey simply by becoming a member of the app!
How one can Keep away from Ticket Scams
There are just a few steps you may take to guard your self from ticket scams, each saving your self some huge cash and frustration – and never being upset while you get turned away from that live performance of a lifetime you’ve been trying ahead to.
- Use a verified retailer – if you happen to’re undecided the place it’s protected to purchase a ticket, the venue will at all times have this info, so use their web site. You may also verify the Secure Tickets from Authorised Retailers web site or the Association of Secondary Ticket Agents to see if a web site or reseller is on the checklist.
- Don’t use social media – don’t purchase tickets from somebody on-line in a discussion board, native promoting group, or perhaps a web site that advertises too-good-to-be-true resale costs.
- Use your debit or bank card – by no means pay money or financial institution switch in your ticket.
- Examine your ticket Ts & Cs – legit tickets could have resale or refund directions
- Examine the ticket Ts & Cs BEFORE you purchase – take a look at tickets from the ticket retailer to see if they’ve a resale coverage, buyer-specific QR codes, or something that identifies the ticket purchaser as this might imply you’re shopping for a dud ticket (for instance, a QR code ticket could be bought to a number of folks as a rip-off, however just one individual will be capable to get contained in the venue with it).
- Search for dodgy hyperlinks earlier than you click on – at all times hover over a web site hyperlink earlier than you click on it and if the URL exhibiting shouldn’t be the web site you need to go to, don’t click on!
- If a web-based cost fails, DO NOT pay once more – contact the ticket gross sales web site to verify in case your transaction went by means of. A rip-off web site is not going to have customer support you may discuss to, and will take a number of ‘failed’ funds from you.
Volunteer As an alternative
Tickets for any type of leisure are costly, even when you will discover methods to economize on them whereas avoiding ticket scams. Nevertheless, there’s one path to entering into your required competition: volunteering.
Pageant volunteers work a shift (often 4-6 hours every day) and could be something from visitors wardens to crowd management. In return for his or her work, they get free tickets to the competition (often together with tenting tickets in a particular workers space, too). It does imply you may need to compromise on which acts you get to see, in case your shift is scheduled for a specific time, but it surely’s a great way to see issues free of charge. Pageant volunteering is bodily demanding, nonetheless, so that you’ll must be in prime situation to do it!