August 26th, 2008 by Gregory Jones

Following the large number of people left disappointed at 2008′s V festival, more fans were left frustrated at last weekend’s Reading and Leeds Festivals as their tickets failed to materialise.

Many fans parted with hundreds of pounds to buy tickets from online ticketing sites such as SOS Master Tickets only to find that tickets never arrived and promises that tickets could be picked up at the site proved false.  Joining SOS in the sin bin is Xclusive Tickets which has been liquidated after allegedly taking money for similar events from over 4,000 fans with no tickets provided.

Concert-goers are urged to check the buyer guarantees before making a payment on any online ticket agencies.  Paying by credit card will also provide some level of protection in the event that tickets are not received.  Anyone who is concerned about similar difficulties is urged to report the website in question to ASTA (Association of Secondary Ticket Agents).

Recurring incidents of this nature are likely to renew calls for some kind of kite mark scheme that will allow legitimate and trusted resellers, of which there are many, to stand out from their murky counterparts.