Exmple of alliteration in this textA Those of us looking forward to seeing Tomatina, October’s Ghost and Kate and Sidney Pye at festivals this summer are being warned to think before we click.
B Tens of thousands of fans are conned into buying counterfeit tickets each year, according to the Fair Trading Office (FTO). In a recent survey, the FTO found that 8 percent of festival-goers said that they had bought bogus tickets in the past. Over 8,000 people were refused entry last year alone from just four of Britain’s biggest festivals — Coalville, Keighley, Sheerness and Wigan — because they had unknowingly forked out for phoney tickets over the net. The typical loss was £65.
C Michaela Sim, Director of Operations for the FTO’s fraud hotline, said: “Consumers must always remember the old saying – buyer beware – and be careful to check that any website they’re considering buying from is 100 percent genuine.
D “Would-be ticket buyers should look at comments on well-known review sites before handing over any money. Also, check for phone numbers and physical addresses and assure yourself about the site’s refund rules.”
E Typically, the UK’s biggest festivals will publicly state when they have no tickets left. Any company claiming to have tickets after they have officially sold out should, therefore, be treated with scepticism. Of course, it may still be possible to buy genuine tickets online using ticket exchanges, though prices will often have increased by 50 percent or more.
F Angee Patel, of TixSwop, one of the main exchanges, said: “Knowledge is the key to success with this issue. With so many scheming swindlers out there, it is essential that festival fans check the sites they’re using, and they should only ever purchase tickets from safe, honest and reputable companies. Don’t let con-artists bleed your bank account dry.”