Put an end to jacked up resale tickets, says B.C. MLA

An NDP MLA says it's time for the B.C. government to put in legislation to regulate ticket reselling.

Spencer Chandra Herbert says he's heard from angry constituents who are frustrated at being shut out of tickets for the Paul McCartney concerts in Vancouver next month and then seeing them on reseller websites.

Many of those tickets obtained by people around the world are now selling them for more than double their face value.

It's a practice Herbert says should be stopped through legislation. 

"If you are a company that is predatory and based on buying every last ticket and squeezing every dollar out of people, then no. The artists don't want it. The hockey teams don't want it."

But Public Safety Minister Mike Morris says banning people from buying tickets just to sell them for inflated prices is hard to stop. 

"When you are dealing over the internet with multiple jurisdictions, multiple laws in place ... it makes it a nightmare at the legislative level." 

One suggestion for changes has been ensuring everyone that sells a ticket, including online brokers, has a licence they must obtain from the B.C. government. 

Ontario has rules in place that allow for ticket re-sellers to make a profit, but they must provide authentication or offer a money-back guarantee. Such rules could prevent fans from getting scammed by fake tickets.

Some of the fans who had been shut out shared their disappointment on Twitter.

Others expressed their joy at scoring tickets.

Some tweeted they found the ticket prices to be too expensive.

Still others pointed out that the tickets were already up for resale.