Sharon Hodgson: Parliament must stand up to the faceless giants of the secondary ticketing market

For the last eight years, I have campaigned on ending the exploitation of fans desperate to see their favourite band, artist or theatre show, who see tickets sold out within minutes of going on general release only to find they instantly reappear on re-sale platforms at grossly inflated prices.

It has been a long and arduous campaign but we have seen many successes in improving consumer law regarding this broken market. Yet this does not mean we don’t still have a long way to go yet whereby parliamentarians, consumer rights campaigners and the industry work together to fix the failures.

Sadly, a senior executive at Ticketmaster recently criticised MPs for campaigning on these issues, saying we surely have “better” things to be getting on with. Unfortunately, these comments fail to recognise the important role MPs play in standing up for consumer rights, including but not limited to the secondary ticketing market.

This is proven quite clearly in the example of the Victims of Viagogo campaign, spearheaded by Claire Turnham, where thousands of people have fallen foul of a lack of consumer protections. Despite this Claire and those fighting these abuses have clawed back over £173, 442 worth of refunds and cashbacks for fans hit by the “Viagogo Glitch” and the failure to advertise prices and fees in a clear way.

Large, multinational and faceless companies who are more than happy to take money from a customer, but fail to provide suitable customer services, is something that should not continue. Even trying to write to the company – or door-stepping Viagogo’s London offices as I did – fails to get any answers.

This is why it is crucial that support is given to consumers to help them understand their rights from the off, but also when things go wrong. Helpfully, Fan Fair Alliance and Claire collaborated and wrote a guide to help consumers get back money they never expected or intended to spend.

These are all steps forward to improve consumer information but it is important that MPs and peers play a role and encourage government to do more to protect consumers.

As elected representatives, we receive more and more communications from constituents about consumer issues. Whilst we cannot always get involved in these matters, we can try to improve the support for consumers. On ticket touting we already have a blueprint as set out in the Waterson Review, published in May last year.

Michael Waterson, an academic, outlined some key guidelines for consumers on buying tickets and what to do when things go wrong. He encouraged the likes of Citizen’s Advice and Trading Standards to adopt them and promote them widely. Yet, a year has passed and nothing has really changed. This is where enforcement comes in.

Ministers and the industry must do more to improve consumer knowledge and protections. Fans must always be put first, and after the events of the last year, it is more important than ever that we support people when buying their tickets from the secondary market to ensure they do not face disappointment at the stage door.

Sharon Hodgson is MP for Washington and Sunderland West and shadow minister for public health.