July 29th 2015
The Rugby World Cup is approaching rapidly, with the first pool game (England v. Fiji) on September 18th at Twickenham heralding six weeks of exciting competition.
As is the case with all international sporting tournaments, sports fans are being warned to avoid being defrauded by buying tickets only from official sources, increasingly so as some fans become desparate to watch specific games.
National fraud reporting helpline Action Fraud, has issued the following advice to fans on what to look out for when buying tickets online.
Who?
Who are you buying from? Is this person or organisation 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, use the ‘Official Checker’ tool 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 atwww.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, 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.
If you are concerned that a sale may be fraudulent, or that you have been sold counterfeit Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets, you can report it as follows:
– To report the fraudulent sale of general public tickets, please contact ER2015 at: [email protected]
– To report the sale of counterfeit Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets or the fraudulent sale of ticket-inclusive supporter tour/hospitality packages, please contact: [email protected]
– To report fraud of any type that has occurred in the UK, contact Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, on 0300 123 2040 or via its online fraud reporting tool.
How do you 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
– Official ticket-inclusive hospitality packages can be purchased through the official hospitality programme, operated by Rugby Travel & Hospitality Ltd at: www.rugbyworldcup.com/hospitality
– Rugby Travel & Hospitality has appointed a number of official sales agents around the world to sell official hospitality packages on its behalf. A list of these agents can be found at: http://supportertours.rugbyworldcup.com/travel_agents_list.aspx
Remember … if you buy tickets, supporter tours or hospitality packages from unofficial sources, you are at risk of having match tickets cancelled and being refused entry to or evicted from match venues.
