The website 'Scarletmist', created to let music fans sell on unwanted tickets at face price, has been forced to shut down after being targeted by fraudsters selling tickets that did not exist.
The site, visited by more than 2,000 people a day enabling 1,200 tickets to be traded without profit every month, stated: "We have been forced to close the site because of the unacceptably high levels of fraud carried out by a small number of criminals. We are desperately sorry to let the rest of you down."
The creator of 'Scarletmist' Richard Marks was a 53-year-old Doctor of the Royal Free in London and an avid festival-goer. His website allowed ethically minded fans to trade tickets without exploiting each other. The site acted like a dating agency for music fans: you listed details of tickets you want to sell and the site introduced you to prospective buyers. Tickets had to be sold at face value and the service was completely free.
Although an ethical site 'Scarletmist' had a growing problem with fraudsters and 'Marks' had been working closing with the police to try and stop website users from being sold non existant tickets. "The fraudsters are difficult to track because they keep changing their contact details and e-mail addresses. Some of them have sold hundreds of tickets on our site and others. The police have a difficult job in catching them and the penalties are weak."
'Marks' reckons that one fraudster alone had sold dozens of tickets through his website, "netting an estimated £1000. But it is difficult to know how much he has truly netted since he has used so many aliases".
"It breaks our hearts to see genuine music fans being stolen from by scum," says 'Marks'. "We set up Scarlet Mist to be a service to the community. We're devastated whenever we hear a buyer has been cheated of their money and we no longer feel able to provide a service that allows these cheats to prosper. We're gutted that the bad guys have beaten us."
Marks has lobbied parliament and the Office of Fair Trading as well as giving evidence to the Department of Culture and Media on the evil effects of touting. He argues that web sites like Viagogo and eBay should be compelled to give information to the tax inspectors. "We do not believe that touting can be made illegal but we are ideologically opposed to it," he says. "We are keen to see touts hit by taxation."
News article written by Michelle
