Ticket touting has been occurring for several years across a variety of platforms, whether this be online or in person. Ticket touting is a form of ticket resale, whereby tickets are bought from licensed sellers and are then resold for a price determined by the buyer.

The Facebook group Fab N’ Fresh is a popular page used by University of Birmingham students to resell tickets for University and Guild events, gigs and other events.

However, there have been several cases of students reselling tickets for events at a much higher asking price than they were originally sold for. These include tickets for events such as Fab N’ Fresh being sold for up to £50 and Tektu for ‘upwards of £28,’ according to UoB student Farhan Chin. As well as ticket touting, there have been incidences where students have been scammed by other students whereby buyers were promised a ticket for an event in exchange for money, however once a transaction was made, the seller did not provide a ticket and refused to refund.

The Guild has acknowledged this issue, as for many students it was ‘inconvenient’ to pay higher ticket prices and have implemented a £7 cap for resale of Fab N’ Fresh tickets.

Despite efforts made by the Guild to limit this problem, ticket touting online persists. Ben Johns, a final-year studying History and English told Redbrick: ‘I’ve always been of the mindset to sell tickets to other students for what you bought it for as everyone is in the same boat, but this past week I’ve been offered a Tektu ticket for £25 which is nearly a 50% mark up on the original ticket price. You really expect better from fellow students, but some just don’t seem to care at all!’

Jamie, a second-year student, told Redbrick that he finds it ‘upsetting’ that tickets are being sold for much higher prices and that he feels ‘left out’ by not being able to afford ‘extortionate ticket prices’ to join his friends on nights out and claims he feels ‘serious FOMO.’

Harriet told Redbrick that she was scammed online when someone asked £18 off her for a ticket to Applebum, a student night out in Birmingham. After she sent the money, they immediately blocked her without providing a ticket in return.

Redbrick spoke to Emily, a third year studying at the University, who said that her friend resold a ticket to Tektu for twelve times the price she paid for it. Emily stated that her friend ‘bought the ticket originally while it was on sale for £2’ on the event’s official website, but she then ‘resold the ticket for £24’ because she ‘was well into her overdraft and just wanted to make some extra cash.’