AC/DC conmen hunt after Birmingham tickets scam

Apr 26 2009 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

Once inside, fortunate fans faced a huge crush. Latecomers were still flooding in during the interval as other fans fought their way to the bars leading to angry exchanges.

Two men were arrested at the scene on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and were last night still being quizzed by detectives. Further inquiries into internet fraud were ongoing.

The law regarding ticket touting remains unclear in Britain because it is not illegal to buy tickets from a secondary source.

But the multi-million pound industry is currently being investigated by the Government.

The Government does not favour legislation to prevent secondary sales but new laws cannot be ruled out if voluntary measures do not succeed.

A spokeswoman for the NEC Group said: West Midlands Police are now investigating this matter. Regrettably the tickets in question were fraudulent so we had no choice but to refuse these fans entry.

The Ticket Factory, which is the official box office for The NEC, LG Arena and The NIA, always advises fans to buy from a reputable source and not from touts.

If a show sells out, we recommend fans keep their eyes peeled for further releases of tickets rather than buy them from an unregulated source and avoid disappointment.

The Ticket Factory is a member of STAR (the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers) which means that fans can buy from the agent with confidence, and know that they will get their tickets posted to them as soon as possible.

Last night a spokesman for West Midlands police said: Two men, aged 41 and 32, were arrested at the NEC LG Arena on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.

They both continue to help police with their inquiries.