Viagogo investigated by NSW consumer watchdog over alleged illegal ticket sales
The New South Wales consumer regulator is investigating complaints about the illegal resale of tickets to live performance events.
NSW Fair Trading announced on Wednesday it was investigating Viagogo after a spike in consumer complaints, but the notorious ticket reseller appeared to be breaching state rules 24 hours later – selling seats for the musical Hamilton in Sydney with a 70% mark-up on Thursday.
The Viagogo website was also selling tickets to next year’s Kings of Leon concerts in Sydney for $215 – compared to $150 from the authorised ticket seller; and to Kiwi singer Lorde’s Australian tour next March for $354 – a 400% mark-up on the same tickets being sold by the tour’s organiser, Frontier.
The NSW Fair Trading commissioner, Rose Webb, said since live performance events reopened in 2021, the complaints against Viagogo have started to pile up.
“Now that [live] events are back on the agenda, we have seen a spike again despite Viagogo being explicitly warned,” she said.
“Those within the entertainment and arts industry have been vocal about the obliteration of their industry due to Covid and they do not need the additional stress of ticket resellers scalping well-meaning fans.
“We will be investigating and using our powers to stop any unlawful behaviour.”
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There have been 36 complaints received about Viagogo in 2021 so far, 16 relating to ticket scalping, 11 relating to the cancellation of events that were not refunded, five relating to misleading customers that they are the authorised seller, three for tickets not being delivered in a timely manner and one for not providing age restriction advice, a NSW Fair Trading statement says.
Last year Viagogo was fined $7m by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for illegal ticketing practices, ranging from reselling tickets with more than the permitted 10% mark-up on the original price, to selling fake tickets to consumers.
A Viagogo spokesperson said: “Viagogo has taken prompt action to remove tickets from our platform that do not comply with the state’s regulatory regime.
“Viagogo is committed to complying with legislation in all markets we operate in, including NSW, and when we are notified of listings that are not compliant, we act quickly to remove them.
“We look forward to continuing to productively engage with regulators to ensure that our website is compliant and the safe and transparent marketplace we offer continues to help customers gain access to events worldwide.”