The next Eurovision Song Contest will take place at Vienna between 19th and 23rd May 2015. This much is clear. Not so clear is when the official ticket sale will start and how much the tickets will cost. Therefore, ticket offers that are already on the internet are not trustworthy.
The European Consumer Centre Austria (ECC) dealt with cases of faked or not delivered tickets or claims regarding fraudulent traders in the past (for more information, see this article).
Various media reported about dubious ticket offers for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 on the internet. The Watchlist Internet warns in an article, that consumers already find offers through search engines, like 799 Euro for a seat on the ground floor. (Unfortunately the article is only available in German).
To beware consumers from potential damage, ECC Austria summarized important tipps regarding a safe online ticket purchase.
Tips of the European Consumer Centre Austria
- Official outlets: Order your tickets only at official ticket offices or websites well known on the internet. Information regarding this is on the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.
- Print documents: Print all the information about the order process and hold on to them so that you have better cards in case of a dispute. Screenshots may also be a good idea.
- Too good to be true: Do not trust exceptional or exclusive offers on the internet or ticket offers for sold-out events.
- Replacement Deals - yes/no: It also happens that ticket offices have miscalculated the quotas and are not able to process all orders according to the contract. In this case you are not required to accept unreasonable compensation packages (tickets in the cheapest category instead of top-category tickets in front of the stage or even for another event than the Song Contest), but can reclaim the purchase price.
- Credit card payment: If you have paid for the tickets by credit card and these were not delivered, please contact your credit card issuer regarding the payment in question and ask in writing - after the event date - for a refund of the ticket because of the other party’s failure to provide the agreed service.
- Law enforcement: If you have not received tickets and if recovery of the purchase price did not succeed, you’re only option is the place a complaint at the police.
