When purchasing your tickets to the theatre in London or anywhere in the world for that matter, you must always be sure that you are purchasing from an official ticket agent. There are so many stories of people finding a deal that seems too good to be true, booking online and then getting to the theatre and finding the seats are not what they had paid for, or the tickets are just not valid at all. Usually that deal is too good to be true!
If you want to book tickets to Wicked, The Mousetrap, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Les Miserables or The Play That Goes Wrong, there are a few things to look for. Firstly is the agency a member of S.T.A.R? S.T.A.R stands for The Society Of Ticket Agents & Retailers. STAR operates within guidelines supported by VisitBritain, VisitLondon, the Society of London Theatre and the Office of Fair Trading. Buying tickets from a STAR member, in person, by phone or online, enables you to buy with confidence, as all members sign up to STAR's code of practice which requires them to treat customers fairly and make all transactions clear and straightforward.
Another few warning signs to look for and ask yourself are is there a physical office address listed for the company on the website and if so, where is it? Is it only possible to contact the company online? is the company registered in the UK? It is very important to determine who you are buying from. It can sometimes be hard to distinguish on first glance at a website or company name whether or not you should trust them, so be sure to always look deeper unless it is a name you already know and trust.
It is also important to know exactly what you are buying. All official ticket agents selling official theatre tickets must clearly state the date and time of the event, the venue address, any description of seating or other arrangements where necessary and most importantly the face value and selling price of the ticket. Comparing the face value to the selling price will let you see what the agent is asking you to pay in booking fees. When paying, check that the website has a secure way of paying. You can determine this by looking for a padlock on the page where you enter your credit card details, also the web address will begin with https://.
Always make sure you check these few factors when booking online to make sure you are buying from an official ticket agent. It is definitely better to be safe than sorry!