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Arts featuresYou are in: Berkshire > Entertainment > Arts features > Don't fall prey to online ticket scams Beware of buying festival tickets online Don't fall prey to online ticket scamsBy Linda Serck Reading Festival head honcho Melvin Benn says fraudulent Internet sites are a "significant problem" to music fans who hand over hundreds of pounds for a ticket. So what can be done? "Absolutely gutted" - this doesn't sound like the words of a music fan with a Reading Festival ticket. Yet Ian Carver and his girlfriend forked out £200 for a pair of Saturday passes to the sold-out festival. "I bought them online at the beginning of May," says Ian, from Fulham, "the website came from the link of a very reputable music website." "I wentÌý to chase the tickets yesterday, looked online to get the number for the company and just found realms and realms of message boards with people saying 'sent things for festivals have already gone, you've got no hope'." Ian Carver won't be seeing The Killers Ian adds that he and his girlfriend were "desperate" to see main stage headliners The Killers. But with no tickets the couple won't be experiencing what would have been a farewell treat. "I'm absolutely gutted. I'm going away for a year and this was supposed to be the last big thing for me and my girlfriend. Now I don't know what we're going to do. "It's not even the money, it's that we won't be there." Unfortunately Ian's plight is echoed on scores of online forums. Many punters claim to have been "scammed" by sites such as SOS Masterticket, a website which now displays a 'page not found' error message. You can read two more ticket buyer case studies and tell us your story below.Online ticket scamming is an issue that Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn says he's been trying to address. "It's quite a significant problem to be honest," the Reading Festival organiser told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Berkshire, "the Government are just not interested, the trading standards people are generally not interested. Reading Festival boss Melvyn Benn "We alert them all the time to the issues to get them to close the websites down and they say they can't. They say that the website is registered in Cyprus or Turkey or somewhere that they've got no jurisdiction over." He adds that Festival Republic have no means of helping out the scam victims against what he describes as "Internet thieves". "The show is sold out and there's nothing we can do at all I'm afraid," he says. "There's always a couple of returns on the gate but that's not by no means guaranteed. "On our website, Festival Republic, we publish where you can buy tickets from authorised sites. We publish all the of the sites that you shouldn't buy from that we know about." The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external websites Phil Thomas from Trading Standards says that buyers shouldn't be fooled by what looks like a credible UK company. "Try and check the geographic address of the company," he says. "For example don't assume that because an Internet site ends '.uk' that it guarantees the site is based in the UK. "Do a bit of research, put the company name into one of the search engines to see if other people have had problems." He adds that you certainly shouldn't judge a site by it's appearance. "It's easy to sit in the comfort of your own home and think all is well when you're just a few clicks away from getting ripped off. "If you were going to buy a second-hand car and you ended up under a railway arch your suspicions would be aroused, but online you don't know easily who you're dealing with. "It's relatively easy to create quite a sophisticated-looking website that gives the impression of having a whole edifice of integrity behind it, which frankly doesn't exist." While falling prey to a scam site may not deliver the tickets, your method of payment could at least help you get your money back. "It's certainly worth always paying by credit card," says Phil, "because if the bill is over £100 you may have a case for a refund from the credit card company." ------------------------------------------------------------- Two more festival ticket stories...Ìý"Sadly I bought a ticket for Reading from SOS Ticketmaster (a treat for my daughter whose mates had let her down gettingÌýa ticket elsewhere). Only buy your tickets from official sources Up to about a week ago I could get to speak to them by 'phone onÌýthe UK tel number given on their website and they assured me (and separately, my wife and my secretary) that they were 100 per cent and there would be no problem with the ticket arriving in time. "No ticket as yet. "I have tried all day to speak with SOS by phone. The line was almost constantly engaged but when I did get through there was either no answer or the call was picked up (on several occasions) and the phone was put down! "Later on I got through again and there was an answer phone saying that SOS were no longer operating from that number! "None of this bodes well but I live in hope. "I paid by credit card so should get a refund if the ticket does not arrive (I have spoken with my card company and have asked them to watch out for any further payments which might be claimed by SOS in error). Check the official site for more information "However that's the easy part. Convincing my daughter that everything is OK is a little more delicate, especially when all her mates are making plans for the trip to Reading... ------------------------------------------------------------- "Looks like I'm another sucker that's been conned by SOS Masterticket. "Paid £400 for two Reading tickets two weeks ago and so far received nothing and no communication. Also notice I was overcharged for the transaction. "I tried phoning last week and today but the line is constantly engaged and no response to e-mails. "Luckily I paid by credit card so I guess I'll get the money back but now I have to tell my sons that I screwed up and they are not going. last updated: 19/08/2008 at 12:54 Have Your SayHave you been the victim of an online Reading Festival ticket scam?
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