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Web scam adds 25% to price of theatre tickets
Joe Murphy, Political Editor11 Apr 2008
Theatregoers are being hit with 25 per cent ticket mark-ups by misleading internet sites.
Thousands are logging on to new sites which imitate theatre names but resell tickets at vastly inflated prices.
A theatregoer buying two stalls tickets at £60 each for a West End play could be paying up to £30 above the box office price.
London's theatres are furious that many of the firms have obtained internet domain names which give the impression they actually belong to the venues. Buyers may assume they are dealing with the box office and getting the best prices.
The practice has also enraged mainstream ticket agencies who say some of the less scrupulous operators are "no better than touts".
The Evening Standard ran a series of famous theatre names through Google and discovered imitations were often at the top of the list of results.
The suspicion is that they are using technology to improve their "search engine ranking" with Google in the same way that BMW in Germany has admitted to doing. BMW was eventually delisted from Google in 2006 for trying to alter its ranking using so-called "black hat" techniques.
Keying "Gielgud Theatre" into Google brought up the site www. gielgudtheatre.com which is selling tickets for the sell-out drama God Of Carnage, starring Ralph Fiennes.
Stalls tickets were on offer at £60 but after clicking the "buy tickets" button the customer is told the face value of the tickets is only £47.50. For a pair of tickets that is a mark-up of £25. Tickets in the grand circle were on offer for £35 but turned out to have a face value of £27.50.
However, had they been bought from the internet site of theatre owners Delfont Mackintosh (www. delfontmackintosh.co.uk), the stalls tickets would have cost £49 each, including a booking fee and theatre restoration levy, and the grand circle tickets £29 each. But the real site is second on the list of sites produced by Google, meaning customers are more likely to be lured onto the unofficial site.
People logging on are greeted with a glossy site that includes reviews and seating plan.
Only the small print reveals the site has no connection with the Gielgud Theatre. The company did not respond to a request to comment.
Richard Johnstone, managing director of Delfont Mackintosh said the theatre group had tried to stop the agency from using - and profiting by - the website name but its attempts were in vain.
Mr Johnstone said it was acceptable for authorised agencies to charge booking fees because of the service they provided but added: "This particular example is of someone who is not an authorised agent and we have told them we do not wish to supply them with tickets or for them to obtain our tickets."
The Society Of London Theatre has warned the industry about what it calls "imitation theatre websites". It advises buyers to go direct to theatre sites or recognised agencies.
Commercial manager Paul James said: "Any instance of unscrupulous traders passing themselves off as legitimate theatres or West End productions is obviously of great concern to us and our members.
"We don't have statistics to gauge the scale of the problem but would urge customers to make sure they're not being misled. If in doubt, play safe by purchasing directly from theatre."
Nick Blackburn, MD of agency See Tickets, said fake sites were a problem for the whole industry. He said there was no justification for a 25 per cent booking charge on a £60 ticket.
He said: "On average our fees are 10 to 12 per cent and on today's ticket prices that's a fair return for a 24-hour service."
A spokeswoman for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, which has seven theatres, said: "We do not approve of agencies misleading the public by 'stealing' domain names but as we all know the internet is something of a jungle."
Reader views (1)
I paid money for tickets to the London Ticket Shop - they are actually based in Hungary! I never received the tickets.
- Pauline Appleton, Spennymoor, 11/04/2008 14:22
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