Consumer rights expert Martyn James runs through everything you need to know about your rights when it comes to booking gig and festival tickets this summer
From Glastonbury to Glyndebourne, high culture to grubby gigs, if you’ve had to compete with your fellow fans to get tickets to your most-desired events this year, then you’ll know how stressful the process can be.
Ticket companies are very much in the news at the moment, with allegations of collusion between ticket touts and official ticket agencies, overpriced artists and problems with resale companies making headlines.
But love them or hate them, we are stuck with the ticket agencies and the prices they charge for now. Watch this space though, as the industry is under scrutiny.
For example, Ticketmaster is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for mislabelling ordinary seats as ‘platinum’ which led fans to think they were special. The CMA is also looking at the same firm for its opaque and complicated ticket pricing policies.
But what are your rights when buying tickets and attending gigs? Here’s my guide!
What is surge pricing?
Surge – or dynamic – pricing is where businesses increase or decrease the underlying cost of goods or services depending on demand. This is becoming increasingly common in all walks of life, but is most contentious when it comes to gigs and event tickets.
Though it’s been denied that surge pricing was used during the recent Oasis ticket scandal, it’s been claimed that some initial tickets were advertised cheaply, then the prices increased dramatically to their ‘true’ value. Fans remain sceptical.
If we don’t know what the ‘basic’ cost of goods is, it’s impossible to know if we are getting a good deal. It makes it harder to compare things you might want to buy with those provided by competitors.
Because surge pricing is created by ‘high’ demand, it means that we tend to panic and pay way over the odds out of fear of missing out.
But where surge pricing becomes truly outrageous is when it’s applied to gig, event and concert tickets. Some fans in the US were shocked when tickets for Bruce Springsteen rocketed past $5,000 per ticket plus fees.
When a business sells tickets like this, there will ALWAYS be high demand. So artists and ticket firms should be honest and upfront about what they actually want to charge so people can make a fair decision.
There’s little you can do about surge pricing sadly, apart from set yourself a budget covering what you are willing to spend and don’t cough up when you get to the checkout.
What are my rights if I buy from a ticket resale agency?
Never buy tickets from a resale agency.
What if a gig or event gets cancelled?
A bit of good news here. When an event is cancelled, you are entitled to a full refund. But it’s not always that simple. You’ll get your refund paid back to the card or payment method you used to buy the tickets.
However, if the event gets rescheduled, your old ticket morphs in to the new one. If you’ve lost or replaced your debit or credit card or changed banks since the tickets were booked, contact the ticket agency to request a full refund to an alternative account. I’ve heard that some ticket firms claim this can’t be done ‘legally’. It can. Push back.
If you can’t attend the rescheduled date you should also get a refund. To my immense annoyance, some firms have started introducing a cut off period for applying for this refund.
In one case, the business gave just a week to claim back cash. This is outrageous in my opinion. In most cases, the ticket company has your email and phone number, so if they haven’t contacted you directly then make a full, formal complaint.
If you’ve bought through a resale agency then things get tricky. Contact the seller of the tickets as they are the ones who will have to claim the refund and pass it on to you.
What about the hotel I booked and my other costs?
The key factor when it comes to additional, event-related costs is whether you booked hotels, travel and more as part of a package. If you did, you should be able to get the full costs back from the agent that sold the package.
However, if you booked accommodation, travel and other things separately, you are unlikely to be able to claim the cost incurred if a gig or event gets cancelled.
Even though you only booked, say, a hotel because of the gig, if Lady Gaga gets a cold and loses her voice, your overnight arrangements aren’t covered by the ticket company or promoters.
This is known as ‘consequential loss’ – losses you incurred as a consequence of something happening. However, never say never. If a business or organisation is responsible for the cancellation and new about the problem – like the recently delayed opening of the Manchester Coop arena – you could argue that you could have avoided your losses if they’d been honest about the situation. This isn’t a clear cut legal issue though.
Failing that, why not try a bit of negotiation? You can always ask the hotel if you can move your booking to a date in the future, though this may cost a bit more to do – and this is at their discretion.
Event insurance
Gig insurance policies seem to have evolved a bit in recent years and now cover ‘missed events’ (sometimes). These policies used to be totally useless. But now, it might be worth considering one of the better ones.
Having looked in to the small print of some policies, many cover a range of cancellation related scenarios, from a death in the family to strike action on transport or illness.
But they vary significantly in quality. Shop around online first to see if you can buy a standalone policy to cover a gig going wrong, rather than clicking on the one that comes up when you buy your tickets.
Transport meltdowns
If you can’t get to an event due to transport problems, then that’s not considered to be the fault of the event manager – unless you’ve been sold a package that includes transport.
Being naturally cautious/cynical, I always look at alternatives to your train or car if one or the other isn’t functioning on the day of the event.
Don’t discount coaches – there are tons of them and they are super cheap. Flights may help for the wealthier, or car shares for fans who can club together.
If you can’t get to the event, you’ll have to see if someone wants to buy your ticket. Outside of the resale options available on the official ticket agency site or app, you may be able to transfer ownership, or gift, the tickets to someone you know who lives nearby and is able to attend the gig.
This can be a fiddly and frustrating process, so to save time, check the app, make sure the tickets are there and ask the recipient to download the app too.
Festival line-up changes
In recent years, a number of festivals have been impacted by key performers dropping out due to sickness or scheduling conflicts. The fact remains that performers can get ill, or choose to cancel appearances. But the festival itself may still go ahead.
Should this happen, you won’t usually be entitled to a refund. However, it might be worth contacting the ticket agency anyway if you can demonstrate you were only attending to see one particular artist.
This is at the discretion of the event organiser though, so be nice and be prepared to compromise – a partial refund would be a big win. Amazingly, some festivals have compromised on this in the past when a comparable headliner could not be provided.
Storms and safety
Of course, other things can put you off attending gigs and events. Organisers are often reluctant to cancel events until it’s apparent that there’s no other option.
So if you’re worried about the prospect of severe thunderstorms and the chance of being struck by lightning, you might find the gig isn’t called off until the last minute.
If it’s clear that there’s a problem already in play – like a flooded field – you may be able to negotiate a refund. This could also apply if it becomes apparent an event has been oversold or there are significant safety concerns.
When a piece of equipment fell off the roof of the Co-op Life Arena just before the original opening gig, that’s clearly a safety breach.
You could, in theory, argue that you have legitimate safety concerns and want a refund on these grounds. However, this may be turned down if the venue can prove that it has passed all the relevant security checks.
My top tips when buying tickets and attending gigs
If you’re planning on going to a gig or event, here’s my checklist:
- Always pay on a credit card if the costs are over £100 as you can claim back from the card provider if the promoter goes bust or there’s a refund problem.
- With accommodation, choose the option that allows you to cancel close to the date of the event.
- Try to avoid buying train or travel tickets until closer to the event – and check the refund policies.
- Check the ticket site’s app so you know how to claim refunds, contact the firm and ‘gift’ tickets you can’t use.
Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist
