GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO SCALPING PETITION
The Government has responded to an online petition demanding official intervention into scalping in light of the shortage of PS5 consoles.
Any petition lobbied to the Government will receive a response after gaining over 10,000 signatures. At 100,000 signatures, this petition – which closes on June 10 – will be considered for debate in Parliament
A statement from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy reads: “Using automated software to buy more tickets than allowed by the retailer is prohibited, with unlimited fines for breaches. Government is discussing other markets with relevant trade associations.”
It continued: “The Government is committed to maintaining one of the world’s strongest consumer protection regimes and ensuring consumers’ interests are safeguarded in our economy. The Government introduced legislation that prevents the use of automated software (‘bots’) to purchase event tickets which are sold on at an inflated price in 2018.
“We are discussing the issue of bulk purchasing of high demand items like graphics cards and games consoles through automated bots with trade associations such as Ukie, the trade association for the video games industry.
“We understand they are currently examining further actions they can take to prevent these behaviours and are working with their retailers to improve experiences for customers purchasing their products.”
