Alton Towers has successfully prosecuted a man selling promotional ‘2 for 1’ admission vouchers.
Michael Sarginson was sentenced to four months in prison for breaching a court injunction that Alton Towers recently secured against the resale of the vouchers.
The decision is widely seen as a landmark ruling and is the first known case where an attraction has prosecuted an individual in such a case.
Alton Towers manager Ian Crabbe said: “This is an excellent result for us, it sends out a very strong message to anybody else involved in this type of activity that we will not stand still and allow touts to ‘hijack’ our business.
“The Judge was very clear that a court injunction is not something that can be ignored and we will continue to pursue these individuals to the full extent of the law to ensure that they are suitably punished.”
‘No cash value’
The vouchers, which are labelled as having “no cash value”, are typically found at newsagent tills, on food and drink wrappers and in newspapers.
Most of the vouchers valid at all attractions operated by Merlin Entertainments in the UK.
Their terms and conditions specifically state that they are “automatically void if sold, offered for sale or if any attempt or offer is made to transfer the voucher for value.”
Despite these terms – and the court injunction – a large number of the promotional vouchers remain for sale on the auction website eBay.