Euro team ticket - scam

pobs1

I have recently made a terrible mistake,
I was attempting to buy tickets for the rugby world cup and i logged on tot the website: rugbyworldcup2011.com, however this was not the official website. The official website is rugbyworldcup.com. It interacted and worked the same way right down to the way i selected the matches and venues, complete with confirmation email.

I had expected to pay aropund €1200 but instead a figure similar to this in dollars appeared and i thought it was fine. I wasnt paying attention and what i was actually agreeing to was four times this amount.

These guys operate from norway and do not have match tickets. Its a scam. I have paid for tickets that they do not have. I have written to the bank with all details and correspondence and a dispute has been placed on the transaction.

First, i fully appreciate its my fault and i took the eye off the ball. However, the bank have told me that if the tickets are not delivered i will get my money back. The tickets are not due for delivery for another year, so il have to wait for that to have any chance.

If anyone has any advice on this it would be appreciated. Is there anything else i can do. These guys are a complete fraud. Does anyone have any information on my likely chances of success. Im pretty pissed over this.

Thanks

jor el

You can't really call this a fraud until the world cup passes, and you haven't received your ticket. As of yet, I don't think the tickets have been issued to anyone, so they can't possibly provide something that they can't have yet. Their position will be that they take bookings, then secure the tickets for people who paid.

Where they will get the tickets from is any guess, where do touts normally get tickets?

The site is registered to someone in the US. http://whois.domaintools.com/rugbyworldcup2011.com You have no options but to wait.

There's nothing for sale on that site either, it looks like a place holder.

pobs1

Look, the reason i use fraud is that a quick search on the internet and there are dozens of cases of people being ripped off. Also, i appreciate that the tickets arent available and that they can take a booking. However the money has gone out of my account. so they have taken something without securing the tickets. The other problem is that the website that mirrored the official website has closed down and is redirected to a different site. Hardly the sign of a legitimate ticket agent.

The official rugby world cup site have since issued a warning about the site.

jor el

probs1 wrote:

However the money has gone out of my account. so they have taken something without securing the tickets.

No website or booking agent will secure any product for you before you pay at least a deposit. Charging your card, which you authorised them to do, before the tickets are available is not fraud. No one is saying they are a legitimate ticket agent, because they obviously aren't, but you may still get your tickets.

They don't have the tickets at the time you pay the money any more than a travel agent has your holiday tickets at the time you pay them. If it turns out that they cannot get the tickets, which you don't know yet, and won't know until 2011, and they subsequently don't refund your money, then it is fraud. Also, if you can determine that they definitely will not be able to secure tickets, then it is also fraud.

What you've done is bought from a tout, and just like buying from the guy on the street outside the stadium, there's nothing you can do about it. There are literally hundreds of website touting tickets, and I would guess that quite often people do not get what they've paid for.

You've done all you can with it for now anyway, and you'll have to wait for the bank to do their thing. If you do still believe it to be a truly fraudulent action, and you have a name and address for the operator (would probably need to be EU based) then you can report it to the Garda fraud squad. I suspect you will get nowhere with this though.

pobs1

yeah, id be realistic about the whole affair and certainly would wait for next year and let the investigation happen, the thing that i am really concerned about is that i have entered into a contract that they will deliver the tickets to my address between certain dates - i think its the beginning of August to the beginning of september. If they dont deliver what i paid for il get on to the bank and they can investigate. I have paid for the cost of the courrier as well.

The terms and conditions, when you get into the nitty gritty state that they can deliver tickets to grounds and locations at their discretion. I have to be realistic and assume that this could really blur the lines and they can start claiming that tickets were deliverded and i just didnt pick them up etc.

So what i would like to know is what takes precedence, the fact that i have a contract stating that goods will be delivered at a time and at a place or the terms and conditions which seem to provide a certain get out clause and would really contradict what i have agreed to.

jor el

One last thing, do you have all communication from the bank in writing? If it was over the phone, then get them to put in writing that they will investigate this in 12 months time (or more) should the order not come through. Otherwise, they could well tell you that since 12 months have passed, they can no longer investigate it. Standard charge back procedure would only be allowed within 3 to 6 months or so of a charge to the card. After this, a lot of banks won't even entertain your request.

gleep

OP, have to say I feel real sorry for you. Have you tried talking to someone in your branch or someone in authority in the bank? You may get a sympathetic ear, worth a try. Best of luck.

jor el

No one in a branch can do anything about credit cards, as this is not dealt with a branch level in any bank. Not even the branch manager could do anything here.

pobs1

yeah,

ive called into a branch and i was told that it was the credit cards disputes section that i would have to deal with. Correspondence was by letter but i havent received anything in writing from the bank. I think il try and get it in writing that they will investigate the dispute.

The financial regulators office have said that if i have a complaint about the result that they will then investigate the bank. But that craic is a long way off yet.

Maria555

My son tried to book tickets through Euro Team on Monday evening, the site rejected his debit card and the message told him to contact his bank. He booked tickets through another site.
Now he has found Euro Team have taken €300 from his account. We called the bank and they are going to try and put through a disclaimer for him. Having read all the scams about Euro Star, I doubt he will ever see a penny. Being a college student and working part time, well you can imagine how he is feeling. I hope you get your tickets.

pobs1

Hi sorry to hear that these heros are still at it.

In fairness if the sale never properly went through he might have a chance of getting it back as its fraud striaght away. Id be interested to know if he gets anything back as im still in limbo with mine and i wont have any idea of how i get on until next september.

If your not happy with the banks resonse ask the financial regualtor and they will have a look at it. He might have a decent enough chance of a charge back.

Maria555

Pobs1 , I have done so much research today on this Euro Team site. What a lot of hassle they are causing.
I have been onto the Bank and they can only look for a reclaim. Again I am having strong words with the Bank as again the Euro Team Site said the transaction was cancelled on Monday night and today they managed to take the €300 out of my sons account. It's a debit card.
They must also have my number on some sort of stop list, as I called them yesterday and waited for over 40 minutes for someone to talk to. No joy, just tell me to mail them. I called again 4 times today. Once I say the reference number, the phone is put down.
I have been onto the financial regulator who put me in touch with the European Customer Centre in Dublin on 01 809 0600. They will try and retrieve his money. I am not holding out much hope. Especially all I have read about this site.
The amazing thing is, when you put a search into "Google" for match or concert tickets, this "Euro Team" site comes up second.
I called Joe on RTE I and am hoping to make this common knowledge during the week.
People should be aware of this site and Google should be pushed to remove them from their search.
Dont know what else to do. But again my son gets €9.00 an hour and will have to work about 2 week to get this amount back. While this Andreas Gyrre whose name appears on their customer service mission statements, probably runs around Europe on our backs.
Again, I sincerely hope you get some satisfaction. I will let you know how I get on.

Maria555

Just to let you know. I fought with the Bank and have received a refund. Thank God.
Now many calls to the Bank and the FR had to be made first. But again got it back