- Danger of fans paying too much for resale tickets, or being scammed
- Consumer Protection investigating 121 individuals suspected of ticket scalping
- Only buy resale tickets through the authorised ticket seller's resale page
Coldplay fans desperate to secure a ticket to sold out concerts at Optus Stadium next month are being warned against buying resale tickets online.
As the countdown to the British band's arrival winds up, the Cook Government is concerned ticket scalpers and scammers may ramp up efforts to target unsuspecting music lovers desperate to attend the concerts on November 18 and 19.
The State Government is warning Coldplay fans who missed out through Ticketmaster to only buy resale tickets from Ticketmaster's Fan-to-Fan resale page, to avoid paying unlawfully inflated prices or being scammed and paying money for a ticket that doesn't provide entry. All tickets transferred or resold on Ticketmaster's Fan-to-Fan resale page are verified by Ticketmaster and re-issued in the buyer's name.
Tickets to both Perth shows sold out within hours of going on sale through Ticketmaster, the authorised ticket agent, in May.
Since then, Consumer Protection has received a total of 216 reports of unauthorised resellers and individuals selling tickets to the Coldplay concerts via websites or classified advertising sites, at prices above the 10 per cent mark-up limit set by Western Australian ticket scalping laws. From these reports, 121 individuals are currently being investigated.
Action was taken by Consumer Protection against ticket scalpers earlier this year, with fines of $2,000 each issued to 17 people who advertised or offered tickets at illegal mark-ups to the Ed Sheeran and UFC 284 events.
Fans seeking to sell their tickets to the event should only use Ticketmaster's Fan-to-Fan resale function to ensure any tickets they sell via Ticketmaster's resale website are compliant with the ticket scalping laws.
Individual fans wishing to sell their tickets on other websites may be subject to further investigation if their offers or advertisements online do not comply with WA's strict ticket scalping laws.
Anyone who buys tickets from unauthorised ticket reselling platforms and classified websites, like Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace, risks being turned away from the venue if the ticket is invalid or fake.
