On Saturday, July 12, I phoned the appropriate number to obtain tickets for Will Young's concert at the Brighton Centre on December 8.

I began ringing at 9am and finally got through to an operator at 11.45am to be told the only available tickets were in the west balcony and my three friends and I wouldn't be able to sit together.

Two hours and forty-five minutes later I went on the Internet and clicked on "Will Young Concerts".

A dot.net company came up with the offer of the choice of ten rows of seats available for sale ranging from £75 to £395 each, when the face value is £29.50.

I cannot comprehend why companies like this are able to obtain so many tickets and ordinary members of the public such as myself who enjoy music and live shows cannot access tickets at all.

I am sure previous concertgoers who have encountered this problem would agree that this needs to be resolved.

We do not condone touting tickets in this way. It is frustrating for both customers and the venues involved - but, unfortunately, it is not illegal to sell concert tickets at inflated prices and it is extremely difficult for us to find ways of preventing it.

We continue to work with the major ticketing agencies and concert promoters to find ways of combatting this problem. My advice is to never purchase tickets at over-inflated prices and, wherever possible, to try to buy tickets directly from the venue Box Office.

Everyone who did come down to the Brighton Centre on the first morning of sales for the Will Young show got great tickets.

-Wendy Walton, Marketing and programme manager, Brighton Centre