Manchester United is the only licensed agent to sell tickets in the away end of a ground in the FA Cup or Premier League involving United.
Yet Champions Travel
claims to be able to sell them – at £145.81.The firm does not allow customers to buy tickets individually – you must instead buy ticket and hotel packages.
You can either stay in the three-star Days Inn or the four-star Novotel in Liverpool city centre.
If you were to book using booking.com, a single room with breakfast in the Days Inn on a typical Saturday night costs £99.
A single room with breakfast in the Novotel on a typical Saturday night costs £115.
The match ticket face value is £38.
So that should mean a ticket and a night at the Days Inn costing £137 and a ticket a night at the Novotel costing £153.
But Champions Travel is charging £244.31 for the Days Inn package – a mark up of £107.31.
The firm is charging £260.81 for the Novotel package – a mark up of £107.81.
That in effect means fans are being asked to pay up to £145.81 for a ticket.
UPDATE: Since Reds Away contacted the FA (who have revealed it is not a licensed ticket agent) Champions Travel has removed its away-end tickets for sale from its website.
However, there is always the possibility such firms may deal over the phone or via email, though there is absolutely no suggestion that Champions Travel has done so.
980 tickets essentially going to waste. Criminal.
I think a large club such as Mufc should have a staff member who looks into businesses who claim to sell home/away tickets, simple internet would research reveal many, United could even purchase a ticket off a company and trace it back, this would also help protect the value of future travel partner deals, also 980 unused seats seems very excessive.
the idea of having someone who now and again checks these things seems reasonable to me paul. however,, if united know they did not provide a firm with tickets, then buy one through an unofficial source, it may well be that’s illegal on uniteds part. it may fit under the banner of participating in touting, or it might even count as entrapment, (if that’s the law in this country). but i agree if allowed it doesn;t seem too taxing for someone at the club.
Ballot being done now
are results out oli ?
Yes
got chubbed for liverpool as usual.. do the ticket office actually call people back if theres any spares or do they just say that to stop people calling?
Hesh, they do ring people randomly who weren’t successful in the original ballot. Good luck pal.
Just had a response from the F.A, pretty much what i was expecting….
Dear Robert,
Thank you for contacting the Football Association.
It is a criminal offence for an unauthorised person to sell a ticket for a designated football match, including FA Cup matches, and The FA works closely with the relevant authorities to seek to stop football ticket touting. However The Football Association itself has no power to take criminal proceedings against ticket touts. The police enforce the criminal legislation that outlaws ticket touting and we pass on to them any information we have about persistent ticket touting in order that they may take the appropriate action.
We are currently investigating concerns raised by a number of members of the public but are not in a position to comment further at this point in time.
Best wishes
Robscot, that’s fine, it is on their agenda and they can include on list of info the police get sent.
I agree Oli, its better than doing nothing!