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Saturday, February 18, 2017

Anger as touts resell tickets to Ed Sheeran charity gig for £5,000

Secondary ticketing website Viagogo has been criticised for "profiteering at the expense of teenage cancer sufferers".

The website is advertising seats at vastly inflated prices for next month's Ed Sheeran concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, which is a fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Seats have reportedly been advertised for up to £5,000, with the most expensive on the website currently costing about £1,500.

Viagogo admitted on its website that the original face value for each ticket was between £49.50 and £110.

In a statement on their website, the Teenager Cancer Trust said: "The only people who should profit from Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall are young people with cancer."

They added: "ID will be rigorously checked and anyone with tickets purchased on the secondary market will not be admitted."

But, according to a report in The Guardian, Viagogo has said on its website that "buyers of tickets for this event will be accompanied into the venue by the seller".

Ticket reform campaigners Fan Fair Alliance said: "Teenage Cancer Trust have gone to huge lengths and expense to prevent resale and profiteering of their tickets.

"To all intents and purposes they are non-transferable, with buyers needing to provide photo ID on the door.

"And yet, not only are Viagogo encouraging touts to sell these tickets at vastly inflated prices, none of which goes back to the charity, they attempt to circumvent the terms and conditions by advertising that the buyer will be accompanied into the venue by the seller.

"Leaving aside the moral repugnance of profiteering at the expense of teenage cancer sufferers, this appears a flagrant breach of consumer law and yet another reason why Government intervention is so desperately needed."

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