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Buying tickets to music and sporting events from scalpers online likely means you will lose your money, WA Consumer Protection has warned after a spate of such incidents.
Three hundred and fifty-four people were refused entry to Perth Arena at 14 separate events over the past five months because they had invalid tickets.
Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said using online scalpers was not worth the trouble.
"You think you're buying genuine tickets, you're often paying highly inflated prices and as we're finding, you're getting poorer and poorer service and you can't deal with those people to get refunds," Mr Hillyard said.
"So it's a warning to people to start looking for the originating venues, don't go to the secondary market, it is just fraught with danger."
The problem is believed to be widespread, with Consumer Protection issuing a specific warning about Geneva-based Viagogo.
Of 143 people refused entry to this year's Hopman Cup, 129 had bought tickets through Viagogo.
Holly Yeomans spent more than $1,200 on VIP tickets for the Perth Guns N' Roses concert at Subiaco as a gift for a staff member who was leaving her organisation.
She bought them months in advance and was shocked to get a phone call on the night of the gig.
"I had a phone call from Bob, the husband, saying they can't get into the venue," she said.
Ms Yeomans said she spoke to someone at the venue who told her the tickets were bogus.
"She said 'I'm really sorry but we just cannot let them into the venue, those seats and those tickets don't even match up with what we've got'," Ms Yeomans said.
However, she had been unable get her money back from Geneva-based Viagogo, which sold her the dud tickets.
She said the site looked authentic, with many concerts advertised.
Consumer Protection had been unable to help because Viagogo is outside its jurisdiction.
Topics: consumer-protection, events, sport, sports-organisations, wa
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