I bought my daughter two Taylor Swift tickets, why won’t Ticketmaster let her take a friend? This is unacceptable

I purchased two tickets to a Taylor Swift concert for my teenage daughter and her friend. When I bought them online there were no warnings to say it was a lead booker event — which means the person who books the tickets has to attend. In fact, the Ticketmaster website stated there were currently no lead booker events.

Ticketmaster has now changed its website and notified everyone that this is a lead booker event and, if the lead booker is not present, entry to the concert will be denied. Surely they cannot enforce this policy as I wasn’t made aware of it at the point of purchase? Francis Gordon, London.
Dean Dunham replies: When you bought the tickets, you entered into a contract under the terms and conditions shown to you prior to your purchase.

In the case of Ticketmaster, these terms are referred to as its ‘Purchase Policy’. Following purchase, the terms of the contract can only be changed if both parties agree or if the terms and conditions state that a change can be made after the event and you are made aware of this. Ticketmaster has clearly changed the terms of your contract ‘after’ you purchased the tickets. While it has the right to do this within its Purchase Policy, you will also have the right now to demand a refund if the need for the lead booker to be present inconveniences you.