Viagogo sues over ‘rip off ’

TICKeT resale website Viagogo is suing ed Sheeran’s promoter over claims fans have been ripped off, the company revealed yesterday.

The pop star’s promoter, Kilimanjaro Live, last year cancelled thousands of tickets sold at inflated prices through the website – and is said to have helped fans claim refunds.

However the Swiss-based company insists the tickets were genuine and bought lawfully, and that the promoter had no right to claim it could cancel them.

It comes after Viagogo agreed to scrap hidden charges following a string of investigations into its tactics by the Mail. It is currently the subject of legal action by the Competition and Markets Authority for several breaches of consumer law.

The development also comes ahead of an inquiry into the ticket resale industry by MPs on the culture select committee today.

Viagogo has accused Kilimanjaro’s chief executive Stuart Galbraith of ‘confiscating thousands of genuine tickets, forcing fans to buy new tickets, and pocketing millions in duplicate sales’. It has launched a legal case against him in Germany.

A Viagogo spokesman said: ‘All tickets on Viagogo are authentic. Stuart Galbraith... conned our customers into believing that their tickets wouldn’t work.’

Mr Galbraith said yesterday that he was unaware of the legal case. He is expected to reject the allegations when he gives evidence to MPs today. His spokesman described Viagogo’s claims as ‘ludicrous’, ‘laughable’ and ‘totally false’.