August 2008

Re: International Tickets, the Black Market and Sanctions.

The Rugby Football Union is anxious that its tickets for Twickenham should reach the hands of the genuine supporters and sponsors of the game.  As a result, the RFU has stepped up its policing of the black market and this has led to a number of clubs, schools and debenture holders whose tickets have ended up on the black market being sanctioned.

Despite the best efforts of the Union there are still a considerable number of tickets which are being sold for profit into the black market, be it unofficial hospitality companies or ticket touts.  The RFU has undertaken, and will, continue to undertake, a policing operation which uncovers instances of black market activity.  The steps taken include:

• purchasing tickets for unofficial hospitality and the inspection of tickets within hospitality venues;
• the use of test purchasing in the weeks before and on the day of internationals
• monitoring eBay and other internet auction sites;
• sound and video surveillance of the activities in and around Twickenham on match day. 

If this policing operation uncovers a breach of the ticket conditions, the debenture holder that was allocated the ticket concerned will be asked for an explanation and the matter may be referred to the Ticket Sub-Committee, which is a sub-committee of the RFU Management Board.  The Ticket Sub-Committee will consider the facts of each case including the culpability of the person concerned and any other mitigating circumstances and decide on the appropriate sanction.  Sanctions have been imposed which have resulted in the reduction for a period of time of all or part of a person’s debenture allocation.

It has become apparent when considering individual cases that tickets have ended up on the black market because of errors, lack of knowledge and in particular because ticket holders have been let down by others (sometimes innocently). A common reason why tickets end up on the black market is that someone is let down at the last minute and then sells the ticket near the stadium at face value or even gives the ticket away free of charge to avoid it going to waste to someone they believe is “a genuine fan”.  This apparently genuine fan however often turns out to be no more than a “runner” for a ticket tout.  Many debenture holders are unaware of how the touts operate on match day.  It is no longer just a man on the corner of the street asking if people want to buy or sell tickets.  They use runners dressed in rugby shirts who look like genuine fans asking for just 1 or 2 spare tickets.  These runners appear in pubs where rugby fans are known to congregate before the game, on the way to the stadium and even in the stadium car parks.  In some cases, we have even seen runners enter the ground with the person who has given them a ticket only to return outside the ground to resell the ticket at a premium.

By taking the following steps you can minimise the chance of your tickets ending up on the black market:

1. If you are attending with guests then hand out the tickets just before the match.
2. If you cannot attend then be careful when transferring your tickets.  Under the ticket terms and conditions you may only transfer tickets to a friend, family member, rugby colleague, RFU Member Club or a Constituent Body at face value.  When transferring the tickets you must warn the transferee about the ticket terms.
3. If you cannot attend the match with your guests then you should warn the person to whom you have transferred your debentures that the tickets should not be resold. If for some reason they cannot use the tickets then they should be returned to you. 
4. If you have a spare ticket on match day you should never sell or give it to someone you believe to be a genuine fan.  For Grade A matches (6 Nations matches or matches against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia), the Ticket Office will accept returned tickets from those to whom the RFU issued them up to 60 minutes before kick off to the West Enquiry Office or the Ticket Office at Rugby House, where a refund less an administration charge of £5 per ticket will be issued after the match to the debenture holder to which the ticket was issued.
5. Retain your ticket for 1 month after the game in case you are asked for it by the RFU.

If you need any assistance in relation to the RFU ticket terms or any other query in relation to tickets, please address them in writing to Patricia Murphy at the Ticket Office or Karen Neale in the Legal Department. 

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