London venue begins tickets probe

By Shari Vahl
You and Yours, BBC Radio 4

The O2 has hosted many high profile events since it was re-opened in 2007

One of the country's biggest entertainment venues, The O2 in London, has launched an investigation into alleged ticket touting and says it will not be renewing a contract with a company run by the Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley.

An investigation by Radio 4's You and Yours programme has revealed that large numbers tickets originally bought by Exsports Limited - of which Mr Ashley is a director - were found for sale on the internet auction site eBay, at vastly-inflated prices.

People who have bought tickets on eBay intended for use by Exsports now face having them cancelled.

Last year, Teresa Callaghan from Essex found tickets for the comic Lee Evans on a website called Londonticketshop.co.uk.

She spent £700 on six seats for a performance at the O2 on Friday, 3 October this year. However, despite booking a year in advance, the tickets failed to arrive.

Just a week before the show, she discovered that the firm had been shut down in February 2008 by the Insolvency Service.

"I was beside myself and I didn't even think of the people who'd ripped me off, just all the friends who'd given me their money and who I'd let down by going to that website", she said.

"I went to eBay and found loads of tickets for this event on there… I spent another £700 on six tickets."

Four of those tickets came from an eBay seller called Royalalberthalltickets.

Valued customers

Despite claiming they have an exclusive relationship with the prestigious venue, Royalalberthalltickets is nothing to do with the Royal Albert Hall in London.

During the last three months, the seller has so far sold tickets worth £90,000 for venues all over the country.

Mrs Callaghan is not the only one to buy these VIP club tickets from Royalalberthalltickets.

Another woman spent £147 on a ticket to see a Lee Evans performance, even though the seats should have cost £30.

And one man paid £177 pounds for each of his Lee Evans tickets from the same eBay seller. These tickets were all in the same row.

O2 says normally people holding tickets like this, bought from an unauthorised source, wouldn't be let in.

Performances by the comic Lee Evans were offered at vastly-inflated prices.

Exsports is a clothing company with two directors, Mr Ashley and another man called David Jarman. It is owned by Sports Direct, of which Mr Ashley is also a director.

Exsports is a VIP member of the O2, which it uses to entertain guests, clients or valued customers.

Each membership costs £3,750 for one year and entitles the member to options on a guaranteed ticket for every single one of the 150 concerts staged there annually.

They are also granted advance access to them ahead of the public but at face-value price.

Included in the membership are ten free tickets a year. The VIP club seats are the best seats in the house. They would be highly prized by eager fans and would be worth a lot, but the rules of VIP club membership prohibit selling them on.

Exports has 30 of these VIP memberships. That means they have guaranteed access to 4,800 tickets at face value or free.

Contract cancelled

Some of those tickets have been sold on royalalberthalltickets for more than five times their face value.

We asked Exsports how their tickets ended up for sale on this eBay seller's site and we are still waiting for a reply. We have also tried to get a response from royalalberthalltickets but have not yet heard from them either.

The O2 has told me it will not tolerate ticket touting of any form and has launched an investigation into the circumstances of this case.

If they confirm Exsports' tickets are being sold in this way, they will cancel the company's contract and all the tickets the it has bought for shows over the next year.

O2 says people who buy tickets from unauthorised sources like Royalalberthalltickets will be refused admission and anyone who is worried should contact its customer services department.