Tout of time
Influential Westminster committee urges fans to snub tickets firm after touts site fails to clean up its act
IT is right the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee has urged music fans to boycott Viagogo.
Their robust report makes a number of welcome recommendations in the battle against touts and rip-off secondary ticketing merchants.
But time is long overdue for the authorities to act.
Viagogo has been receiving warnings about its conduct for two years but has never been fined. Why?
It continued to flout the law to coin it in on the back of fan loyalty.
Its behaviour has been nothing short of a disgrace.
The Daily Record has led the fight against the exploitation of music fans. It is time for the people in power to do their jobs.
A POWERFUL Westminster committee has urged music fans to boycott tout site Viagogo after its illegal practices were exposed.
The report by the powerful Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee has also called for swift and decisive action against the “secondary ticketing” firm after it failed to comply with a court order to clean up its act.
The inquiry into ticket abuse – which heard evidence from the Daily Record on how touts rip off ordinary fans – also puts heat on Google for allowing sites such as Viagogo to break consumer law.
The committee recommends sanctions against search engines who collect a fortune in advertising revenue as they facilitate the profits of Viagogo.
Among the recommendations arising from the inquiry are: ●Fans should boycott Viagogo. ●Rip-off sites should be prevented from placing illegal adverts online. ●Google should be hammered if it fails to act against sellers in breach of the law. ●More robust enforcement of existing consumer laws – which have been flouted brazenly – is needed.
Chairman of the DCMS Committee Damian Collins MP said: “The UK is witnessing a boom in live music with increasing numbers attending concerts and festivals, giving a boost for the economy, with home-grown talent like Ed Sheeran taking that success across the world.
“Yet for all its vibrancy, away from the headline acts, the music industry is also facing stark challenges. We’re calling on the Government to review the effectiveness of the law intended to prevent consumers being ripped-off when buying tickets for live concerts.
“The Government shouldn’t rely on the work of voluntary groups to take on the giants in the ticket resale market but make sure there is effective action to end exploitation, and greater transparency and redress for ticketbuyers when things go wrong.”
Viagogo said they were disappointed to be singled out and added that they provided an “invaluable service”. They said hundreds of thousands of Brits use their service to buy and sell tickets and never experienced any problems.
Viagogo added: “For those transactions that fall into the one per cent annually where customers do have an issue, the overwhelming majority of cases are due to the unfair and potentially illegal restrictions the event organisers pose simply because customers have chosen to purchase tickets from a competitor of theirs.
The firm said they would continue to work constructively with the Competition and Market Authority and make further amends where necessary.