The couple travelled to Auckland with two friends, who had bought their tickets via Ticketmaster.
Their friends went through the doors to the Spark Arena show but a security guard told the Haurakis to take their tickets to the ticket booth.
"The lady we spoke to said 'these tickets have been cancelled'. Me and my husband just looked at each other."
She said four or five others had also bought fake tickets and sought admission earlier in the night.
The plan was to drive back to Whangarei after the concert as Shannon Hauraki had work the next day, but the couple ended up getting a hotel room as they were "tired and over it".
"We ended up staying the night and leaving early in the morning."
Letia Hauraki wanted to warn others about Viagogo.
"I never got a notification to say they [the tickets] had been cancelled. They're not checking these tickets."
Hauraki has reported being denied entry to the venue to Viagogo, via its website, and received a response saying the company would investigate.
The Forum North box office posted a warning on its Facebook page on Saturday about the ticket resale website.
"Please please do not purchase tickets through Viagogo. This site automatically comes up first in your search list but please avoid it," the warning said.
It said people are buying tickets through the site, some for "ridiculous prices" and then not being granted access because the ticket is not valid.
"The site does not have a contact phone number, everything is via email and even though they guarantee valid tickets they are not always the case."
Whangarei District Council marketing and events team leader Rachel O'Gorman advised people to ensure they bought tickets from an authorised ticketing company such as Ticketek, Ticketmaster, Ticket Direct and Eventfinda or in person from the Forum North box office.
"If people have bought tickets through Viagogo they should get in touch with this company directly to check the validity of their tickets."
A group of 70 people who had also bought tickets from Viagogo and were unable to get into the concert on Saturday night have banded together, and two representatives were going to meet with the Commerce Commission about the situation.
Viagogo has been approached for comment, but had not responded by edition time.
Its website states: "Buyers are guaranteed to receive valid tickets in time for the event. If a problem arises, viagogo will step in to provide comparable replacement tickets or a refund."
Commerce Commission advice
Make sure you are visiting the official ticket seller site, don't just assume the first web search result that comes up is the official site. Some resale sites use advertisements on Google that appear at the top of search results. One way you can ensure you have the official site is to visit the artist's official website and follow the link from their website to buy tickets.
If the official site has sold out and you decide to purchase through a resale website be aware that tickets can be significantly more expensive. There are other risks when you buy from resale websites rather than from the official ticket website:
• The ticket you purchase could be fake
• You might never receive the ticket
• The ticket might not have the features you thought you were purchasing eg, specific location in the venue, premium add-ons or wheelchair access.
