THOUSANDS of music and sports fans will miss out on the gigs of their dreams.

This has happened because a ticket sales company has gone into liquidation.

London-based Get Me Tickets has been wound up after an inquiry uncovered a catalogue of dodgy dealings.

The inquiry was done by the Companies Investigations Branch, run by the Government's Insolvency Service.

Get Me Tickets had specialised in getting tickets for sold-out concerts, festivals and sports events.

But customers often complained about being left stranded outside venues because of invalid tickets or getting inferior seats.

Sometimes tickets did not arrive at all.

Many customers were overcharged for tickets - because Get Me Tickets broke laws which required them to tell customers the face value of tickets.

Some fans paid prices some that were marked-up by 1,000%. These included £30 tickets to see Little Britain that eventually cost £377.

Huddersfield women Tracey Smith and Vicky Ashness had paid £110 each for tickets to see rock legend Jon Bon Jovi at the City of Manchester Stadium yesterday.

When they rang Get Me Tickets last week to ask when their tickets would be coming they were put through to the Insolvency Service and told the bad news.

Tracey, of Dalton, said: "We were told not to expect tickets to arrive until a week before the show.

"We were getting a bit worried, so decided to check. We got through to this service. We were advised on how to go about getting our money back.

"We booked the tickets last year. We're really disappointed."

They have now bought tickets direct from the stadium - at the cost of another £50 each.

The experience has left Tracey wary of buying tickets on the internet again.

She said: "I would think twice before doing it now. They were taking money from us and not buying all the tickets as they took the money.

"So when they went under some tickets were there to be sent out, but not enough."

An Insolvency Service spokes- woman said large numbers of people were affected by the liquidation, but there were no figures of exactly how many.

She said there were irregularities in Get Me Tickets' accounts, including money being transferred into directors' personal bank accounts.

Although Get Me Tickets denied all the allegations and went to court, the firm lost its battle with the CIB.

Desmond Flynn, the Insolvency Service's inspector general and chief executive, said: "Fans are vulnerable to ticket touting agencies that make promises but then don't deliver.

"We need to make a distinction between the sound and reputable ticket companies, who provide a vital role in providing tickets."

* Anyone seeking a refund over problems with Get Me Tickets should contact The Official Receiver on 020 7637 1110 or email piu.or@insolvency.gsi. gov.uk

Alternatively, write to The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3SS.