Ticket agency wound up in court

http://www.getmetickets.net/

A ticket agency that attracted hundreds of complaints from people who said it failed to deliver the goods has been wound up by the High Court.

Get Me Tickets Ltd, which offered seats for sought-after music, theatre and sport events at highly inflated prices, was put into compulsory liquidation.

It had been shut by the government in February after complaints about tickets not turning up or arriving late.

Deputy judge Robert Englehart QC said members of the public were "let down".

Consumer minister Ian McCartney said Thursday's ruling sent "a message to anyone low enough to prey on fans' passion for music and sport events".

"I am determined to stamp out these rogues and protect consumers from losing their hard-earned cash," he said.

Getmetickets.net became the most high-profile unauthorised ticket resale agent after being investigated by the BBC's Watchdog programme twice and in the national press.

The company flouted regulations requiring it to disclose the original face value of the ticket to customers, the government said.

The judge said 360 complaints were made to trading standards officers between January and November 2005.

'Dissatisfaction'

He said the company took payments before it had obtained the tickets in the hope that it would be able to acquire them.

"Customer dissatisfaction was obviously widespread, although I certainly accept that the company did also have a number of customers who were perfectly happy with the service provided," he said.

He said the company's managing director, Michael Rangos, had told him he was not worried by the bad publicity.

"He maintained that, even where the company had been shown in a most unfavourable light by the press or in broadcasting media, the immediate consequence was an increase in the company's sale."

The company denied the allegations. The official receiver said customers who had paid for tickets by debit card would have a claim in the liquidation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4994862.stm