Watchdog takes Viagogo to court in victory for Mail
CONTROVERSIAL ticketing website Viagogo will finally face action over claims it is breaking consumer law, leaving fans out of pocket.
The competitions watchdog has issued High Court proceedings against the Geneva-based firm, which sells second-hand tickets to music and sporting events. The Competitions and Markets Authority move follows investigations that have exposed Viagogo’s methods.
In March, a Daily Mail reporter who tried to buy an £18 ticket for a Taylor Swift concert was incorrectly informed by Viagogo that the face value was £180. He was eventually charged £240. As it was second-hand, the ticket – for the BBC’s Biggest Weekend – was in any case invalid.
The website has also been criticised for ‘drip-pricing’, adding extra fees at the end of the booking process. The CMA said Viagogo customers are not being told whether there is a risk they will be turned away, what seat they will get or who is selling the ticket. The firm is also giving misleading information about the availability of tickets, which can mean customers feel rushed into buying, the CMA says. Others are being offered tickets the seller does not own and cannot supply. Customers also have difficulty getting refunds.
The court move follows the CMA’s decision last year to begin action against four ticket reselling sites. Three – Stub- Hub, Getmein! and Seatwave – agreed to change how they operate but Viagogo refused.
Ticketmaster has since said it will shut Getmein! and Seatwave, as it has become ‘tired of seeing others snap up tickets just to resell for a profit’.
The CMA is now seeking an interim order to put a stop to at least some misleading practices ahead of a full trial.
CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: ‘People who buy tickets on websites like Viagogo must be given all the information they are entitled to.’
Alex Neill, of consumer group Which?, said Viagogo was ‘a rogue operator’.
Viagogo said it was ‘disappointed’ with the CMA decision and ‘committed to reaching resolution through the legal process’. It has always denied responsibility for the problems. It says it is simply a trading platform for buying and selling.