BOOKING HEARTBREAK: Agencies seek answers after promised Cape Town Test tickets fail to arrive

Travel agencies and hospitality companies in South Africa are facing significant losses and seeking answers after promised tickets for the Springboks-All Blacks second Test in Cape Town failed to arrive. Hundreds of tickets, which were bought and sold months in advance, did not materialize, leaving clients, including supporters from Zimbabwe and as far as New Zealand and London, scrambling for answers.

Numerous companies, including SportPro, Steadfast Africa, C Sports International, Tour d’Afrique, and others, had purchased tickets from external suppliers, but they never arrived. The uncertainty has led to backlash against the South African Rugby Union (Saru), with allegations of double-selling tickets or issues with the ticketing system.

Saru has denied these allegations and has reported four companies to the South African Police Service (SAPS). SportPro, a specialized auction platform, explained to its clients that the firm it had bought tickets from blamed Saru for the "ticketing mistake." Saru responded, stating that if tickets had been double sold, the issue would have been apparent at the match.

The affected companies are seeking refunds and exploring legal action, with the breaches of event terms and conditions of sale, as well as the Consumer Protection Act, under investigation.