Viagogo ads a no go for Google
Google has blocked controversial ticket reseller Viagogo from its paid-for search results.
The suspension will go into effect immediately in what could be a huge blow to the Swiss-based company, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
A Google spokeswoman said it had found Viagogo in breach of its advertising policy and would begin to remove ads yesterday.
Viagogo has faced global criticism for its practices that, according to the Commerce Commission, misled customers over ticket availability, additional fees and not fulfilling its guarantee to provide valid tickets.
Viagogo hoped the issue could be resolved, the Sydney Morning Herald said.
‘‘We were extremely surprised to learn of Google’s concerns today,’’ a Viagogo statement said.
‘‘We are confident that there has been no breach of Google’s policies and look forward to working with them to resolve this as quickly as possible.’’
In February, the Commerce Commission took Viagogo to court over breaches of the Fair Trading Act. The commission initially failed to get an interim injunction against the company and court action was ongoing.
Last month, Viagogo representatives claimed the commission was ignoring attempts to reach a settlement in the case.
However, the commission said it had no prior knowledge of a Viagogo representative’s visit and had not had a request to meet. ‘‘If Viagogo wished to sit down with us we would have been happy to do so,’’ a spokesman said.
Viagogo was the commission’s most complained-about trader last year, with more than 500 complaints. In one case, the commission claims Viagogo said there was ‘‘only one ticket left’’ to a performance of Peter Pan Goes Wrong last November, when at least 473 tickets were available from an authorised ticketing agent.
Others have complained about the price of tickets, when the advertised prices were unobtainable due to the addition of GST and various fees. A ticket to a Lorde concert offered for $177.26 ended up costing $228.98 when $51.72 in fees were added.
In April, the Australian Federal Court found the company had not made it clear to consumers that it was not an official ticket vendor and that fees of up to 28 per cent could be charged.
‘‘We are confident that there has been no breach of Google’s policies.’’ Viagogo statement