Tickets on net sold with 300% mark-up

A fresh warning was issued today over the inflated prices being charged for some concert and sports events by online "web-touts".

The latest alarm was triggered by the frenzy surrounding the four reunion concerts being given by the Sixties group Cream in May.

It comes only days after the Office of Fair Trading announced plans to clamp down on rogue ticket agencies.

Hundreds of marked up tickets for Cream began appearing on websites within hours of the Royal Albert Hall event selling out. They were officiallypriced at £50, £75 and £125 but have appeared on auction sites such as eBay for up to £2,000 for four, an increase of more than 300 per cent.

The premiums have enraged fans who failed to get tickets through "legitimate" routes and now face having to pay over the odds for the concerts.

There are also fears about "cowboy" agents who do not give accurate information or may even fail to supply the tickets. Peter Tudor, chairman of the National Arenas Association-said Cream fans should treat websites offering tickets with the utmost caution.

He said: "We've had people whose tickets do not exist, did not turn up or whose tickets were in the wrong position.

"When you buy from a box office or recognised agency, if there is a cancellation, they have your details. If you buy from a tout and there is a problem, they will vanish into thin air.

"Market forces mean that this is always going to happen but customers need to be very careful where they source tickets from." As well as eBay, there are web agencies demanding huge prices for Cream. One was asking £795 for one ticket on 6 May, while tickets to stand in the balcony were £225.

An OFT spokeswoman said that websites need to display all relevant consumer information, including the original price and full, accurate details of the seat position, or be in breach of the law.

Cream was made up of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. They split in 1968.

In a statement, Cream's promoters 3A told the Evening Standard: "We believe that the majority of tickets on sale at exploitative prices have been purchased not by touts but by members of the public with a view to using one pair and selling the other pair on.

"It is our belief that the real culprits are internet sites which permit daily auctions with seemingly no checks.

"Not one ticket has yet been printed for any of the Cream shows, but today there are 85 Cream ticket offers on eBay."

Football tickets being advertised without details of their face value include the Chelsea v Barcelona Champions League clash next month.