Consumer Rights Bill

Debate between Lord Borwick and Lord Pendry

Wednesday 15th October 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord Pendry (Lab)]

My Lords, I will talk to this clutch of amendments, but specifically to Amendments 26 and 27.

Protecting sports fans from ticket touts and being ripped off when buying tickets for leading sporting events is an issue that I and others have been working on for over 20 years. At that time the focus was of course mainly on disorder issues in football, which were highlighted by Lord Justice Taylor and his report after the tragic events at Hillsborough stadium in 1989. Way back in 1994 I led from the Labour Benches in the other place a campaign to have the then Government extend the provisions they were introducing to ban ticket touting at football events to other sports, in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. We were partly successful in that we obtained reserve powers to be added to that Bill to allow a Home Secretary to designate other sporting events. The amendment to that Bill was added in this place—just to show that we often have greater wisdom here than in the other place—but sadly, the measure has not yet been used, by successive Governments.

Back then I was working with the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, on this issue, and here we are today still battling away to protect sport and its fans. I hope that today we will be successful, as the amendments before us have the support of the Opposition Front Benches and eminent Peers with a long-standing interest in sport, including the noble Baronesses, Lady Heyhoe Flint—as we have just heard—Lady Grey-Thompson, and others. They know well the issues that arise from certain individuals and companies who try to rip off genuine sports fans.

Of course, the Government acted to ban ticket touting at the London Olympics—at the behest of the IOC—and clearly the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, must have had a major say in that decision. It is a great shame that we did not learn from that experience. Everyone agrees that one of the joys of the Olympics was the ambiance and general good will of the Games. That was aided by the fact that the approach to sporting venues was not inundated with shady touts doing their business and adding the air of menace they often bring. Instead, we had smiling volunteers and a general ambiance as real fans entered the various venues.

We also saw the wonderful atmosphere that it generated at the sporting events, as the legislation restricted the secondary market and helped more fans to get tickets. What a shame that we did not learn directly from that experience and create a positive legacy for all sporting events. I know that we often hear about the legacy benefits that the Games created, but in that area we certainly have yet to learn from that past experience. Today, we have an opportunity to make a difference. The amendments before us would not criminalise ticket touting. That is a debate for another day, although I hope it comes pretty soon. Instead, we can today provide more protection for fans who buy tickets and introduce more transparency into the arrangements. As others have said, it is an extension of measures that the Government already have and, for that reason, I am hoping that the Minister will accept the amendment.

The proposed new clause builds on existing government regulations by making requirements of certain ticket details that must be provided. To my mind, this is sensible. It will enable a sports fan to know the exact location of the seat that they are purchasing, its original cost and whether or not it is in the terms and conditions for that ticket to be transferred. This is important, as we know that fans are often grossly overcharged for tickets with no awareness that this is happening. In the most serious cases, the fan may not even get into the event they have bought the ticket for. If it is against those terms and conditions for the ticket to be resold, they find it invalid.

Will the Minister address this particular question when she replies? Can she explain why it is not in the interests of the consumer for them to be made aware whether it is within the terms and conditions of a ticket for that ticket to be transferred? Clearly, the basic principle is that to sell something that does not actually exist is wrong. This proposal would place no extra burden on consumers. For the seller, it would probably add seconds for the information that they have to provide when listing a ticket for sale—or if they have the technical ability, which I certainly do not, to take a snap of it on their smartphone and upload that picture to the online sales process.

Finally, as we have heard from the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, the amendments have the support of sporting organisations including the British Horseracing Board, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Rugby Football Union and Wimbledon tennis. All of them have contacted me—and others, I am sure—to say how it would help them to meet their objectives of protecting their sporting events for the many and not the few. I urge the Minister to accept the amendments before her. In future all sports fans could have greater protection to see their favourite sporting events not being marred by the unscrupulous, who currently are content to see genuine sporting fans being ripped off.

[Lord Borwick]

My Lords, very few secondary markets are perfect but they are certainly welcome in that they provide liquidity to the primary market. These amendments on secondary ticketing platforms would get in the way of the primary market. When somebody buys a ticket for an event, they are investing in something that is often way into the future. Tickets for big shows are often released a year in advance or more, so buying tickets to such events strikes me as a rather entrepreneurial activity. It is risk-taking: you cannot know whether you will enjoy the show or event and there are no reviews to read or critics to listen to. Yet if you decide that you cannot go to the event or change your mind, it is a good thing that there are proper secondary platforms developing to sell those tickets. These amendments would mean that people would think twice about that risk of buying tickets in the first place. They would be distortionary.

The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, mentioned botnets. I think they were also mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, with whom I entirely agreed on his earlier amendment. I am afraid that I disagree with him now because surely there are very good pieces of software that can stop the purchasing where computers buy automatically. Those aggravating things where you have to fill in a distorted word to prove that you are human can stop the botnets.

The noble Baroness, Lady Heyhoe Flint, talked about her aggravation that somebody was paying £4,000 for a ticket to a cricket match. I am aggravated that that £4,000 is not going to the cricket club but rather to somebody else. If somebody is prepared to pay £4,000 for a ticket to a cricket match, why is the cricket club not charging that figure? That money would then go to the sport rather than to somebody else. Of course, the real problem is the ticket touts outside railway stations or on street corners who are selling outright fake tickets or perhaps their electronic equivalents. Selling electronic tickets or trading on the street without a licence is illegal; there is already legislation to deal with this problem. The secondary platforms are already ensuring that resold tickets are valid. They usually insist that the face value of the original ticket is stated during the transaction. The market is providing solutions. We do not need new legislation and new burdens. In any case, these amendments would hit the good guys instead of the bad guys.