August 21, 2008 15:44

V Festival 'scam' ticket agency investigated by trading standards office

Fans hoping to attend Reading And Leeds Festivals may also be affected

SOS Master Tickets, the ticket agency that reportedly failed to deliver up to 800 V Festival tickets to fully paid-up customers, are being investigated by trading standards officers.

Hundreds of disappointed fans were left without tickets to last weekend's V Festival at both the Chelmsford and Staffordshire sites, with some having paid up to £180 per ticket. Fans said that representatives from the agency ignored their phone calls and emails regarding the tickets.

A spokesperson for Islington Town Council confirmed that action was now being taken against the ticket agency.

They said: "Islington Council's trading standards are aware of SOS Master Tickets and are in the process of carrying out an investigation into their activity.

"So far there have been more than 300 complaints to the national Consumer Direct helpline."

SOS Master Tickets is registered to a residential address in Islington, The Times reports.

In a further twist to the story, the Press Association quotes Graham Burns, chairman of the Association Of Secondary Ticket Agencies as saying: "We alerted the authorities to this [website] some months ago, because the prices they were offering for tickets were simply not achievable.

"They were offering a weekend's camping at these festivals for £200, and that is not a realistic figure."

Burns said he was now concerned that up to 2,000 other people - including those who purchased tickets for this weekend's Reading And Leeds Festivals - may be also be affected by the alleged scam.