England fans get World Cup tickets warning

England's surprise progress to Saturday's showpiece against South Africa has sparked a surge in demand among supporters desperate to be at the Stade de France, with some tickets changing hands for more than £3,000.

Eric Baker, founder and chief executive of online ticket exchange viagogo (www.viagogo.co.uk), believes fans are taking a huge gamble the moment they hand their money over to a tout.

"What happens is the touts, the people on the street, want to prey on that passion that England fans have," Baker told PA Sport.

"You're an England fan and say 'I'll do anything to go to the game'.

"What often happens is you've got a shady person on a street corner you don't know.

"You can't tell to the naked eye whether it's a real ticket or not because these are the Picassos of the fraud world."

Baker expressed equal concern over unguaranteed online purchases.

"People will go to either eBay or even rogue internet sites," he said.

"eBay doesn't guarantee anything.

"All you can do is give negative feedback.

"If you and a friend walk up to the gates of the Stade de France and are told 'these are fraudulent tickets', your friend's going to give you some negative feedback right there.

"Then there are people who go to random webites. Anyone can start a website and make all kind of claims."

As CEO of one of eBay's rivals, Baker, of course, has a vested interest in promoting this message.

In reality, eBay does provide additional avenues for buyers to pursue should they become a victim of fraud.

However, these do not guarantee the items purchased will be delivered and this is where Baker claims viagogo differs.

"What it's all about is creating a safe, secure and guaranteed way for people to buy tickets," he said.

"What viagogo does is register every buyer and seller.

"Once a sale is confirmed, the seller is responsible for the tickets they've sold.

"If they don't come through with the tickets, we at viagogo will match the buyer up with another set of tickets and we will hit the seller's financial information to cover the transaction."

This means that if the seller offers a World Cup final ticket for £1,000 and fails to provide it, he or she is liable for any additional cost viagogo incur in paying an alternative seller to supply a replacement ticket.

"There are always tickets available. It's just the price that fluctuates," Baker added.

"The buyer knows they'll get the tickets."

The service viagogo provide obviously comes at a cost, with a 10 per cent levy on purchases for the buyer and 15 per cent for the seller.

Baker launched the company in August 2006 following his success with a similar business in his native United States.

He claims the clamour for World Cup final tickets is unprecedented for the fledgling business.

"This event, with England having won on Saturday night, is the hottest ticket we have seen," he said.

Baker believes the surprise nature of England's progress to the final has had a huge effect on the market, with fewer supporters of the stuttering champions having bought tickets in advance.

He said: "When you get an underdog team who has been written off, the frenzy gets that much bigger because the shock, the surprise and the size of the eurphoria is very different.

He added: "On Saturday night, literally the moment the clock stopped in injury-time, boom, we could see people buying and selling tickets immediately."