Watchdog pursues block on Viagogo
New Zealand authorities are taking ticket-reselling company Viagogo to court this week, as the platform stands accused of being used by scalpers to scam concertgoers around the world.
The Commerce Commission is seeking an interim injunction against the Swiss-based company in the High Court at Auckland.
Viagogo was the commission’s most complained-about trader of
2018. More than 760 Kiwis in total have laid complaints about the website, with more than 500 of those complaints made last year.
The site is accused of breaching the Fair Trading Act by making bogus claims about ticket scarcity, being obscure about fees and not fulfilling its guarantee to provide valid tickets in time for the event.
It is understood the case is unlikely to be defended by Viagogo, and that it would have taken six months to serve the company through diplomatic channels, prompting the commission to seek an injunction.
The commission claims Viagogo misrepresented itself as an ‘‘official’’ ticket seller, and that it gave the false impression tickets were limited or about to sell out.
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 in fact there were at least 473 tickets available for that performance from an authorised ticketing agent.
Consumers have also complained that Viagogo’s ‘‘headline’’ prices were unobtainable because of the addition of GST and fees. A ticket to a Lorde concert offered for $177.26 ended up costing
$228.98 because of $51.72 in fees. Other complaints revolved around buyers never receiving the tickets they purchased, and being unable to get hold of Viagogo for a refund.
‘‘At no stage during the ticketlisting process does Viagogo require the seller to demonstrate that they hold a valid ticket.’’ Commerce Commission
Viagogo requires resellers to upload their tickets to its site, or it arranges to have the tickets physically sent to the buyer. But buyers take a risk that the resellers won’t release the tickets, or will print multiple copies of the same seats.
No law prevents tickets from being resold at a higher price, unless it’s to an event covered by the Major Events Management Act such as the Rugby World Cup. However, Viagogo was making guarantees it could not keep, the commission said in its statement of claim to the court.
‘‘At no stage during the ticketlisting process does Viagogo require the seller to demonstrate that they hold a valid ticket that has been issued for an event.’’
Christchurch woman Flora Johnson thought she would lose $500 on tickets bought for a Royal New Zealand Ballet performance of The Nutcracker in November.
She found Viagogo on a Google search: ‘‘It was just the first thing that popped up.’’ When the tickets didn’t arrive, she persevered with emailing Viagogo for a refund, which arrived minus $100 for fees in the same week.
Johnson says she feels lucky to have recouped most of her money, but still lost the opportunity to go to the performance.
‘‘I wouldn’t recommend them to anybody, anywhere. In fact, I tell people as often as I can when they’re buying tickets to an event, don’t go near their site. It’s not held accountable at all.’’
Consumers are still being warned against the site, particularly with high-profile concerts such as Eminem and Phil Collins happening this month.
The organisers of kapa haka festival Te Matatini ki te Ao in Wellington this month urged buyers to avoid the website after hearing people were paying more than four times the price for tickets that can still be bought at the regular value.
‘‘The festival’s been going since 1972 and this is the first time there’s been scalping,’’ festival spokesman Wi Pere Mita said.
Other countries that are bringing similar cases against Viagogo include Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Britain and Australia. It has been fined in Italy and sued by international soccer agency Fifa.