scam

christineannathomas

I recently tried to buy concert tickets for an even that is due to take palce bnext June only to discover the company I had subscribed to is operating scams and that there were a long catalogue of unhappy customers who had been swindled out of a lot of money. I am now among that number. I discovered that the company based in Scandinavia has taken nearly £1000 from my account and are refusing to stop the money. They say it is legally binding. The only compensation they are offering is half the amount for the purchase so about £500. I have received no tickets and according to the reports I have read will not do so!What are my rights?

timbstoke

Download Festival tickets by any chance?

Your rights are to receive the tickets you paid for. In reality, you're probably not going to get much joy with a chargeback until you've given the company a reasonable opportunity to provide the tickets to you. If you paid by credit card, then you can initiate a chargeback if the tickets turn out to be fake, or don't turn up.

Realistically, you have three options:

- Wait for the tickets, and hope that they both arrive, and are genuine.
- Talk to your credit card company, tell them your concerns, and see if they'd be willing to initiate an investigation/chargeback before you've received the tickets.
- Tell your credit card company you have no idea what the transaction is and didn't authorise it.This will result in your CC company investigating, and it is possible that they will be able to show that it was indeed you that ordered them (by proving that you have previously ordered online/checked online banking from the same PC used to make the payment, for example)

arcon5

How did you pay?

It is unlikely that you can claim a refund (whether via s.75 or chargeback) at the moment as they have not breached the contract, it's merely speculation that they will -- unless you have other evidence than reviews..

christineannathomas

Thanks. Yes, concert tickets.. but waiting for tickets until 2 weeks before event sounds awful and unrealistic to me given that as soon as I discovered the unlikelihood of receiving them from the scam notification site I cancelled or tried to! Have contacted my bank who say they will look into it but scam company have sent 2 very aggressive emails and I'm scared. Fact is who can afford to lose nearly a grand?

timbstoke

If it is for Download, contact them - they'll be able to tell you whether the company have been allocated tickets. If they haven't, that's extra weight for your claim.

Of course, this assumes you paid by credit card. If you paid by debit card, all may not be totally lost, but it becomes much more difficult.

christineannathomas

I paid by credit card which I assumed could be refunded. The card in question has now been destroyed because I didn't trust the company not to take more money from me since they seemed so unscrupulous.

christineannathomas

Has anybody an idea whether I could contact concert organisers to see if this company have been allocated tickets or not? It was not "Download" by the way.

timbstoke

It's certainly worth a try. Live Nation are the organisers for most major events - try them on 0207 009 3333 and see if they can give any advice. If they can provide you with written evidence that the company have not been allocated any tickets, show that to your bank along with evidence of the previous complaints - it might help swing it in your favour.

As arcon says though - as it stands right now they haven't actually breached the contract, so your banks hands may be tied.

meer53

A Visa chargeback can be actioned if you don't receive the tickets. You'll have to wait until the day of the event though before this can be done.

arcon5

christineannathomas wrote: »

Thanks. Yes, concert tickets.. but waiting for tickets until 2 weeks before event sounds awful and unrealistic to me given that as soon as I discovered the unlikelihood of receiving them from the scam notification site I cancelled or tried to! Have contacted my bank who say they will look into it but scam company have sent 2 very aggressive emails and I'm scared. Fact is who can afford to lose nearly a grand?

not many people can. But then a) not many people can afford £1k on a concert and b) not many people buy tickets costing £1k without looking into the company first

As it stands they have done nothing wrong and your unable to substantiate in any way or form your concerns. So it would be reckless and irresponsible for the bank to file a chargeback based on a few reviews you found on the internet.

However, whatever the concern is... phone the organisers and explain you purchased tickets and unsure if they are fraudulent or not, 'is there anyway of verifying a company to be an authorised seller?' and see if and what processes they have in place.
If they say 'company x has not been authorised or is not set at present to be issued with tickets' then ask for this in writing for which you may have a valid claim for filing a chargeback.