Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Neville-Rolfe during the Report Stage of the Consumer Rights Bill on 19 November that "there is fraud in the ticket market; we do not dispute the numbers quoted from the National Fraud Authority on this. In this case of ticket fraud, it reports £1.5 billion of losses" (HL Deb, col 489), whether they intend to take action in the Bill to address the scale of fraud on consumers, in particular sports, music, theatre and entertainment fans.

There is existing legislation in place to protect fans, as consumers, when they buy tickets. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 ensure consumers are given key information before they buy from a trader.

These Regulations exist alongside the Fraud Act 2006 which encompasses frauds involving tickets.

Whilst we do not believe that further legislation is required on the specific issue of ticket fraud, the Government is reflecting on the best way to respond to the debate on tickets during Lords Report Stage of the Consumer Rights Bill.