National Trading Standards has confirmed it has carried out a series of raids as part of its investigation into the secondary ticketing market.
Four properties were raided and four people were arrested under suspicion of breaching consumer protection regulations.
The body began its investigation into the practices of businesses that buy and sell tickets in bulk in April, funded by the Department Of Business, Energy And Industrial Strategy. It has been working with the Competition And Markets Authority (CMA), which announced last month that it will take enforcement action against resale sites suspected of breaking consumer protection law following a long-running investigation. Google has also announced new global resale regulations.
“Yesterday (Tuesday, December 12), officers from National Trading Standards conducted raids at a number of properties across the UK," said a statement from the body. "These raids are part of an ongoing investigation looking into unfair practices in the secondary ticketing market and particularly the practices of businesses that buy and sell tickets in bulk.
“A total of four properties were raided and four people were arrested under suspicion of breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. In addition to the arrests a range of equipment including computers, mobile phones and storage devices have been seized as evidence.
“The raids, led by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, were supported by local police, specialist police officers and the North East Regional Asset Recovery Team.
“National Trading Standards has also been working closely with the Competition And Markets Authority, which announced on November 28 that it will take action against secondary ticketing websites suspected of breaking consumer protection law.”
The body said it would be making no further comment regarding the raids and ongoing investigation at this time, in line with its standard operating procedures.
A spokesman for anti-touting campaign group FanFair Alliance said: "FanFair Alliance welcomes what sounds like a comprehensive raid by National Trading Standards. With new legislation due for enforcement in 2018, and the Competition And Markets Authority promising action against secondary ticketing sites that break consumer protection laws, this should mark the beginning of a long-awaited clean-up of this market."
