http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13206286
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| Quote: Entries for the London 2012 Olympics lottery have closed, and it's clear some people have gone for many events to avoid drawing a blank. But if they get everything could they be left with a bill of thousands? Right. The 100m with Usain Bolt. Click. And the opening ceremony. Click. Tom Daley diving and Victoria Pendleton cycling. Click click. Lots of people will also be applying for these events, so how about adding, um, the canoe slalom preliminary rounds? Click. The men's shot put - at least I'll be in the stadium. Click. Click click. Click. With the final bill only defined by the outcome of next month's lottery for oversubscribed events, it's all too easy to get carried away. And when payment is taken next month, some will be in for a nasty surprise if they've won more than expected. Nor will they know for which events until 24 June, and they won't be able to offload unwanted tickets until the official resale portal opens in early 2012. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote People bet big and hope to win small” Matt Bath, of Which? The organisers insist that, throughout the process, they have urged the public to only bid what they can afford. But anecdotal accounts suggest many risk overstretching themselves. One person worried about this is Ruth, who has applied for £22,000 worth of tickets. "What my husband decided was the chances of getting tickets would be low, so we applied to get our 20 lots, and he got his sister to do it and his dad to do it. So we've applied for all these tickets using up three people's quotas," she told BBC Radio 5 live. Continue reading the main story Carried away to the tune of £4,500 Athletics fan Cameron Duncan, who lives in London, is desperate to see the 100m but has also applied for tennis, gymnastics, diving and boxing, among others. "I had a rough plan of what I wanted to buy, but I did get carried away. I bought back-ups for each event but they're not really back-ups as you could get them all. I also went for a wider price range than I envisioned. "I was a bit shocked at the end when I totted up what I'd put myself down for. It was an escalation though - as I went along I kept thinking 'oh it doesn't matter, just go for it' and it built up along the way." Cameron plans to resell only duplicate tickets he gets, and thinks he will get family and friends to take any spares. "We're a family of four so we've applied for about 240 tickets. We're just really hoping that we won't get them all." The ticketing system is akin to reverse gambling, says Matt Bath, the technology editor at Which? "People bet big and hope to win small." Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London Organising Committee, says most people have been "generally sensible" about their ticket buying. "We have made it clear from the beginning that you should only apply for and budget for the tickets you can afford, and I think that's what people have generally done." But consumer organisations beg to differ. "I would say that everyone I've spoken to, it's been the morning after the night before. They've all got an Olympic tickets hangover," says Bath. "That's the thing with lotteries, people tend to bet more than they can afford. We're hearing stories of people putting down £2,000, £3,000, even £5,000. If they win them all, I think they're going to be in for a massive shock." | |
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