LONDON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The British government and the entertainment industry, in an effort to curb ticket scalping, have announced new measures designed to protect consumers.
The initiatives follow a meeting of the Department For Media, Culture and Sport and event organizers, box offices and Internet auction sites, NME.com said Friday.
Anti-scalping measures include an official ticket exchange system to allow fans to swap tickets among themselves, and auction sites carrying information about the original ticket price and details about the seat or access the ticket provides.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said the measures adopted during the latest ticket-scalping summit will "protect consumers and improve the ticketing marketplace."
A "shop a tout" phone line will to allow the public to report unscrupulous ticket sellers.
"Exploitation and excessive profiteering by touts puts tickets out of the reach of real fans. We are determined to protect consumers against this," said Jowell.
She said current British laws and Europe's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive should protect ticket buyers.
