Last week we highlighted the story of a reader frustrated by Ticketmaster’s systems when trying to access Westlife tickets bought by his company on behalf of a client.
A couple of readers made contact with their own perspective on the story.
“I like your consumer column but I don’t think you should be intervening with companies (even the unpopular greedy ones like Ticketmaster) on behalf of commercial entities, even those self-described as small, family enterprises,” suggested a reader named Niall.
Another reader called Declan sent a mail that arrived shortly after Niall’s.
RM Block
“First of all, I love your articles and will always click when I see your name on the byline,” he began – no doubt aware that flattery always goes down well with needy hacks craving attention.
“Today I think you missed the point,” he continued. “I’m sure I won’t be the only reader to say this. The person featured today bought 24 tickets for resale using accounts specifically set up to circumvent the anti-tout measures Ticketmaster have put in place,” Declan said.
“You don’t mention the price he was selling on at but one way or another he was making a profit through a straightforward price mark up or a ‘service charge’. I’m surprised Ticketmaster have entertained him at all. I would have expected all 24 tickets to have been cancelled and put back on general sale.”
Declan says he has “spent countless hours in virtual Ticketmaster queues only to be disappointed as they all sell out. I, like most, also have to suck it up and pay the premium ticket prices charged in Ireland. The lack of availability and high prices are both, at least, linked to professional resellers taking up multiple tickets, no matter what the price, to sell on to corporate customers or desperate fans.”
We acknowledge that this is an entirely legitimate perspective for people to have and – for the sake of complete transparency – should say it is not something we considered when we first read the initial reader’s mail. What struck us was how frustrating it must have been to have paid for tickets that could not be accessed, and we missed the idea that any company buying 24 tickets on behalf of a client might well be depriving serious fans of the opportunity to see a band they love.
