Mumbai Lawyer Files Complaint Against BookMyShow Over Coldplay Ticket Scam

A complaint has been filed against BookMyShow and Live Nation Entertainment by a Mumbai-based law firm for being part of a significant ticketing scam related to Coldplay’s date in India. The complaint is regarding the event’s three-day ticketing, scheduled for January 2025 at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The tickets went up for sale on September 22 through BookMyShow, which acts as the official ticketing agency for the British band’s shows in India.

The Founder Partner of Vertices Partners, Amit Vyas claimed that the ticketing platforms were in a way manipulating access to their platforms such that they must have either blocked the users or forced them out thereby allowing bots and black-market operators to capture most of the sales. He continued saying, while the tickets were marked sold out on BookMyShow, they were appearing at multiples prices on resale platforms like Viagogo sometimes 30-50 times above the original prices. Vyas claimed it breached consumer rights and laws of Indian Criminal Law. He further alleged that there is a violation of Indian Criminal Law. The EOW has already started investigating the allegations.

According to a report from Bar and Bench, Vyas planned to file a First Information Report with various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including organised crime, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust. He even intended to submit a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court, which can set rigid guidelines for observing events of this scale so that frauds like this don’t happen again in the future.

BookMyShow Rebutts Allegations

“BookMyShow has no association with any ticket selling/reselling platforms such as Viagogo and Gigsberg or third-party individuals for the resale of Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India,” the company said. They further added, “Scalping is strictly prohibited and punishable under law in India. We have filed a complaint with the police authorities and will be cooperating fully with them in this regard.”

Scam alerts The website warned Coldplay fans: “We urge you not to fall victim to these scams. Any tickets bought from unauthorized sources will be at the risk of the consumer and can turn out to be fake tickets. Beware of such scammers.” BookMyShow reiterated, “Avoid scams! BookMyShow is the only official platform for ticket sales.”