Advice issued to supporters buying remaining tickets.
Fans planning to purchase the remaining tickets for the Rugby World Cup 2015 are being urged to be vigilant and “buy official” to avoid being let down. With ticket demand higher than any previous rugby event, someunofficial sellers are expected to exploit the build-up to the event by offering unauthorised or counterfeit tickets to unsuspecting supporters.
Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off on Friday 18 September 2015, and eager fans who have yet to secure official tickets are being strongly urged by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team to ensure that sellers have tickets to sell. To check whether a seller has been allocated tickets and authorised to sell Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets, use the ‘Official Checker’; www.rugbyworldcup.com/buyofficial
The international campaign – which sees the National Trading Standards eCrime Team join forces with Rugby World Cup Limited, England Rugby 2015, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) – advises fans on what to look out for when buying online Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets to avoid disappointment at the turnstiles.
Fans are being urged to consider the following questions very carefully to avoid financial loss and last-minute disappointment. This is especially important for those fans travelling from abroad, who may spend significant sums on travel and accommodation, only to find that they can’t get into a match because tickets not bought through official channels are liable for cancellation.
The questions are:
| Who? Who are you buying from? Is this person likely to have Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets to sell? Some unauthorised sellers may not have tickets to sell. To check whether a company or a certain website is an official Rugby World Cup 2015 channel and has therefore been allocated tickets and authorised to sell them to the public, see the ‘Official Checker’ list of agents which is located at www.rugbyworldcup/buyofficial. When? When will you get the ticket? Contact the seller to confirm that they actually have the ticket to supply to you, and confirm you will get it in good time before the event. Some unauthorised websites will take your money, and try subsequently to get you a ticket – but may not guarantee to supply. To eliminate risk, buy from the official channels. More information is available at www.rugbyworldcup.com/ticketing. What? What are you actually getting? Does the ticket have restrictions – for example on age? Where? Where will you be sitting? If you are buying several tickets, will all seats be located together? How much? How much will you be paying? Some sites charge delivery or administration fees, so the first price you see may not be the one you end up paying. How much is the face value of the ticket? When tickets are resold through unofficial channels, unauthorised sellers might charge a price that is different to that printed on the ticket. If the charges do seem high, it is a good indication that the tickets are being sold through unofficial channels, so check the ‘Official Checker’. What if? What happens if something goes wrong? For example, will you get your money back if the ticket doesn’t arrive? Make sure you understand what you are covered for if something goes wrong. |
World Rugby Chairmman Bernard Lapasset said:
“Rugby World Cup 2015 will be a very special and truly global celebration of the sport. To be a part of the celebration, we are urging all fans to ensure that they only buy tickets from official channels outlined on www.rugbyworldcup.com/buyofficial.”
Mike Andrews, the lead coordinator for the National Trading Standards eCrime Team said:
“Apart from the risks of buying from unauthorised sellers, we are warning fans not to succumb to last-minute Rugby World Cup fever and fall foul of scammers and rogue ticket agents who will be looking to cash in on their enthusiasm. People need to understand that only those fans with tickets bought from official sources will be guaranteed admission to matches, and tickets not bought from official channels are liable for cancellation, so heeding this advice could help avoid bitter and costly disappointment at the turnstiles.”
If you are concerned that a sale may be fraudulent or that you have been sold counterfeit Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets, visit http://www.tradingstandardsecrime.org.uk/beware-of-rugby-world-cup-2015-ticket-scams/ for more advice.
Tickets are still available so if you are still hoping to get a ticket, you should ensure that you are buying Rugby World Cup 2015 match tickets, supporter tours or hospitality packages from an official channel.More information and links to buy tickets through the official channels can be found at www.rugbyworldcup.com/ticketing
- Tickets can be purchased from the official Rugby World Cup 2015 ticketing website at: https://tickets.rugbyworldcup.com
- If you have tickets for a match that you are no longer able to attend, use the official Rugby World Cup 2015 resale service and sell your tickets safely and securely, at face value, to other fans. Find out more here: http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/news/63577
- Official ticket-inclusive hospitality packages can be purchased through the official hospitality programme, operated by Rugby Travel & Hospitality Ltd (RTH) at rugbyworldcup.com/hospitality
- RTH has appointed a number of Official Sales Agents around the world to sell Official Hospitality packages on their behalf.
- RTH has appointed a number of Official Travel Agents (OTAs) from across the globe to provide official Rugby World Cup ticket-inclusive supporter tours (i.e., travel packages). A list of such OTAs is available at: http://supportertours.rugbyworldcup.com/travel_agents_list.aspx
Supporters purchasing tickets, supporter tours or hospitality packages from unofficial sources risk having match tickets cancelled (and being refused entry to or evicted from match venues).
***ENDS***
For more information about this story contact Mike Andrews 01609 534901. For more general enquiries regarding the National Trading Standards Board please call 020 7025 7570 or e-mail nationaltradingstandards@grayling.com.
Notes to Editors
About National Trading Standards
National Trading Standards delivers national and regional consumer protection enforcement. Its Board is made up of senior and experienced heads of local government trading standards from around England and Wales with an independent Chair. Its purpose is to protect consumers and safeguard legitimate businesses by tackling serious national and regional consumer protection issues and organised criminality and by providing a “safety net” to limit unsafe consumer goods entering the UK and protecting food supplies by ensuring the animal feed chain is safe.
National Trading Standards eCrime Team
Funded by National Trading Standards , the National Trading Standards eCrime Team recognises that a secure and safe online environment that protects consumers and allows businesses to flourish is vital to the long term success of the UK economy.
The eCrime Team provides a national resource to support all local authority areas in England and Wales, tackling the increasing threat to businesses and consumers in relation to internet scams and rip-offs. There are separate arrangements in place in Scotland.
About Rugby World Cup: Rugby World Cup is the financial engine behind unprecedented investment and growth in rugby worldwide. The net Rugby World Cup surplus from the commercial success of France 2007 and New Zealand 2011 has enabled World Rugby to invest more than £150 million in the game between 2009 and 2012 and commit an anticipated injection of more than £180 million between 2013 and 2016 to underwrite a large range of major funding initiatives including annual national union grants and strategic investments focusing on growing participation and increasing competition across all 120 national member unions affiliated to World Rugby.
About England 2015: Rugby World Cup 2015, hosted in England between 18 September and 31 October, will be a celebration of rugby and its unique character-building values, exciting and inspiring the nation and the world to play and support the game. England Rugby 2015 are the organising committee for Rugby World Cup 2015 and will deliver the six-week tournament, hosted in 10 English cities and in Cardiff, Wales. Thirteen match venues will play host to the 48 games that will celebrate and engage more than two million spectators, including more than 400,000 international travelling fans.
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015 and the Rugby World Cup Event Mark ™ © Rugby World Cup Limited 2008.
About RTH: Rugby Travel & Hospitality Limited are the exclusive provider of official hospitality at Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and Wales. After successfully delivering the official hospitality programme for Rugby World Cups 2007 France and 2011 New Zealand, RTH have been appointed as the official hospitality provider for the next two Rugby World Cup Tournaments in England in 2015 and Japan in 2019.
For further information on official hospitality packages and to purchase limited tickets for every match please visit www.rugbyworldcup.com/hospitality
RTH is also responsible for managing the official travel programme for the Tournament. For further information about the Official Travel Agents and their ticket inclusive supporter tours (i.e travel packages) please visit http://supportertours.rugbyworldcup.com/travel_agents_list.aspx