KEVIN BRIDGES
Don’t let rip-off ticket touts take your money
COMEDIAN Kevin Bridges has warned fans to steer clear of Viagogo after scores fell victim to rip-offs on the rogue site. The Scot priced most tickets around a reasonable £30 but lots of fans paid many times more after inadvertently buying from Viagogo. Many victims were unaware they were even using a secondary site when they paid rip-off prices for tickets that were “lost in transit”. Some managed to get last minute replacements supplied by Viagogo – at the back of the SSE Hydro – which were still on general sale for some nights. But others are chasing refunds. Saying they were aware of the scam, a spokesman for Kevin Bridges added: “When ticket buyers have informed us they have paid over face value prices through secondary ticket selling sites, where possible we have been endeavouring to offer them production seats at face value prices. “We are strongly against these sites and urge people to buy tickets through official outlets.”
The latest Viagogo scandal makes a mockery of a recent finding by the Advertising Standards Authority that fans are aware of the difference between face-value primary sellers and rip-off secondaries when they buy tickets.
The ASA refused to sanction the hated resale site, allowing them to advertise on Google without stating they are secondary sellers – a move that brought accusations that they had betrayed consumers.
Fans Anne and David Hoy, from Busby, east Renfrewshire, paid six times the face value after doing a Google search for Kevin Bridges tickets last October.
Instead of being sent to Ticketmaster, carer Anne unwittingly found herself on the Viagogo site.
She and David were told by Viagogo last week that the tickets had been lost in transit and they were given new ones at the very back of the Hydro. She said: “I was told there were only a few tickets left and that these were the best
prices available. I really felt this was my last chance to get any tickets.
“I got carried away and by the time I completed the purchase, I had spent £380 on two tickets.
“At the time, I was in a bit of a shock but I thought that the huge cost meant I would be at the front.”
Another shock came for Anne, 57, when the tickets arrived.
She said: “When the new ones came, they were at the back, with a face value of £28.38. I could have cried. I contacted Viagogo to be told there was no refund and that all we could do was to go and enjoy the gig and that was that.”
Anne added: “I can only warn others not to touch this rip-off site.”
Adam Webb, from campaign group FanFair Alliance, said: “We hear of these cases on a daily basis.”
The ASA said: “The ASA will respond to any new complaints we receive about Viagogo’s ads and consider them carefully to establish if the rules have been broken and what, if any, action is needed.
“We’re satisfied, currently, that the search ad that we investigated is not likely to mislead people about the nature of Viagogo’s service.”