Warning for Ed Sheeran fans after fraud allegations

Ed Sheeran is adding two extra concerts to his New Zealand tour as demand multiplies.

But, there's a warning from a fan who's been seriously burnt by a ticket-reselling company.

'Oh why, oh why, oh why' is exactly what Vicki Hirst is asking herself after buying pre-sale Ed Sheeran tickets for her family.

"It ended up being $1425 for four tickets," she says.

And that's for the cheap seats, with a $300 booking fee tacked on.

Tickets sold by the official seller, Ticketmaster, start at just $69 per ticket.

"I couldn't remember who the official seller was so I Googled - and it took me to the Viagogo site," she says.

Viagogo is a Switzerland-based ticket re-seller that hugely inflates its prices. Last year it sold tickets to Adele fans who were scammed when the tickets - supposedly with wheelchair access to the concert - were just ordinary seats.

"The ticket re-selling itself is probably not illegal but it's how these tickets are being sold that we have concerns about," says Consumer NZ CEO Sue Chetwin.

Viagogo was asked to appear before UK MPs to defend allegations of "fraud" but the company failed to show up.

Ms Hirst emailed Viagogo asking for a refund but the email's bounced back with no reply.

She can only hope the expensive tickets will arrive in the mail, and be valid at the gates, when they're issued in January.

"I can't afford to purchase more and now we just have to wait and see," she says.

The tour promoters say don't follow Ms Hirst's lead. Before you buy general release tickets next week, make sure you're buying from the official seller, not a re-seller, or you could find yourself short on loose change.

Newshub.