Glastonbury fan 'loses £20k' over VIP tickets

A man says he has been left £20,000 out of pocket after a firm linked to a ticketing company was closed.

Nathan Challis, 37, of Southampton, said he paid Hello Front Row £16,000 for VIP Glastonbury tickets and £4,000 for a holiday to Los Angeles.

The tickets were not there for him at the festival and he was not refunded.

A Companies House notice said the firm had been dissolved but a spokesman said another firm, Front Row Tickets, still continued to operate.

A spokeswoman said Front Row Ticket was "active and has been trading successfully since March 2012" and said the second firm had been created and dissolved "to stop anyone buying the company name".

Investigations into the firm are being carried out.

Mr Challis said he was offered a deal, including a luxury yurt and two VIP tickets to Glastonbury in summer.

He attempted to contact Hello Front Row, but after waiting more than 24 hour he went home. He requested a refund, which he said was refused.

"I spoke to Trading Standards who told me about all the rules they had broken," he said.

"I had used them in the past without a problem. They provided good packages for the Brit Awards and the Summertime Ball."

Mr Challis is hopeful he can recoup some of the money, and called for better industry regulation.

"The tickets to these events are sold out in seconds, with touts and third party websites making a killing. They change hands for thousands of pounds."

In July, Hello Front Row said that Mr Challis's tickets had been delayed but were ready for him after he left.

"All our other clients are at Glastonbury having a great time," it said at the time.

Mr Challis said he had also lost money booking a holiday to LA with the firm.

Action Fraud, an investigation service run by City of London police, said the case was being assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).

The NFIB would seek to establish any "viable lines of enquiry" and details could be passed to police for investigation.