to keep the tickets?

[beresh]

I bought 3 tickets for a sport event online in April through a ticket agency, like Ticketmaster but overseas. Today the agency called me to say there's been a mistake, I have top price premium tickets but only paid for the bottom category and I either need to pay the difference (£180, way more than the original seats cost) or select seats in the correct category.

Having questioned them, it turns out they put the wrong price category on these tickets and are asking me out of goodwill to change them, my tickets are valid. AIBU to keep them? If I'd bought them from a ticket stand instead of online they wouldn't be able to ask me to swap them, I could have sold them on in the last month and also the tickets were for a birthday present for my daughter and I've already printed them off and given them to her.

I have no idea legally how you stand, but morally I think you are right to keep the tickets you have. Good luck!

Why aren't they honouring the tickets out of goodwill for their mistake?

No, I would keep the tickets. It's their fault.

I have a business.

If I made a mistake of that kind, I would honour the price quoted.

Saying that, if they have sold thousands of tickets and lost £180 on each one, they are probably finished.

So it's up to you.

Sounds like they are asking on the off chance that someone pities them. I don't see them forcing your hand here.

Do you pity them enough to give them an extra £180?

Nope, you have the tickets and you paid for them in good faith. Ignore them.

What goes with Gomorrah?

Enjoy the event!

Can they ask for them back. Thought once its sold its sold. You bought at price they happy to sell at. If later they say they want more surely they cant come back and ask for it.

No, you bought them at the asking price, the deal is done, they're yours now. If the correct price had been on them when you were buying them, would you still have bought them? Probably not! So I don't think you have any obligation to pay for their mistake.

Right - legal bit.

In the UK - a contract requires:
(i) offer;
(ii) acceptance;
(iii) consideration; and
(iv) intention to create legal relations.

A price quoted for something is not an offer - it is an invitation to treat only. Nobody has to sell to you at a price that they quote. The vendor has every right to amend the price prior to actually selling it to you.

However...
Once you have clicked on the "buy" button you have made an OFFER to buy it at the stated price.
Once the website has accepted your order, the vendor has committed to ACCEPTANCE.
CONSIDERATION has been exchanged (ie you have paid the price offered and accepted).
And clearly had INTENTION by virtue of their online site.

You do not have to pay more or exchange your tickets under UK law.

HOWEVER - You say that you bought these from an overseas website. You MUST check the terms and conditions. If they state that their contracts are governed by another country's law, the above won't count and you must look at the contract law of that country to see what your rights are.

If it doesn't say whose law governs contracts, you're in murky waters. IS it an EU website? if so, EU law can help you work out the governing law, but if not, you're in a murky area of international conflict of laws.

Having questioned them, it turns out they put the wrong price category on these tickets and are asking me out of goodwill to change them, my tickets are valid

Sounds like the situation has been clarified. Keep them.

Thanks so much everyone, I've decided to see how it goes with keeping them - looking at the website there are no decent tickets to swap them for anyway as it's nearly sold out. There can't be more than 100 tickets affected, probably a lot less, so it won't be much of a hit on a huge firm.

That's £18,000!

Are they really that huge?

If you suspected an error, or thought it was too good to be true, the. You should return them IMO. If you bought them in good faith, believing the price to be fair, then keep them.

Beresh - does the £180 represent face value, or does it include their mark-up? If the latter, I would be inclined to offer the difference in face value only.

Maybe try the MoneySavingExpert forums for this? They're very hot on consumer rights!

Keep them it was there error

I'd keep them.

And email back "No, sorry, I'm happy with the tickets I have".

Thanks for the further thoughts. Face value of the 3 tickets is £60. Face value of the premium tickets is £240. There was one row of 'blue' cheap tickets in an area of 'pink' expensive ones (100 seats in this area altogether). I assumed they must have a partially blocked view and that was why they were cheaper, I didn't realise they were premium tickets. Company group made 80 million Eur profit last year, it won't break them.

Fuck 'em

It's probable that the other 97 blue cheap seats which stood out in a sea of pricey pink ones were purchased by other buyers on the same assumption that you made.

In any event, the bottom line is that you bought in good faith and the goods have been delivered. End of story.

You are fully entitled to keep the tickets and it's down to the ticket agency to suck up their error.

If I were running the agency I'd arrange for the 100 'lucky' ticket holders to receive a small company logo-themed goody bag on the day containing, say, a pair of binoculars, baseball cap/sunhat, and a 10% off voucher for a future purchase of premium price tickets.

I do hope your daughter and her companions enjoy the event.