Viagogo home to ‘fraudsters’

Hundreds of rugby fans were left without valid tickets during the 2018 British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand after scammers targeted fans through ticket reseller Viagogo.

Lawyers representing the Commerce Commission have described Viagogo’s website as a ‘‘marketplace for scalpers and fraudsters’’ in their opening submission to the High Court at Auckland yesterday.

The commission was seeking a temporary injunction against the ticket-booking site to temporarily shut down the site while formal papers could be served to the company in Switzerland.

Lawyer Nicholas Flanagan, representing the commission, said the company was misleading New Zealand consumers as to ticket availability, final fees, and consumer guarantees.

However, Aaron Lloyd, the lawyer representing Viagogo, said there were genuine questions about whether the New Zealand justice system had jurisdiction over the company’s actions.

Lloyd challenged the commission’s arguments against Viagogo, describing Flanagan’s case as misleading.

‘‘No-one thinks a guarantee is an absolute promise,’’ Lloyd said.

He argued the company’s guarantee contained nuances that covered the issues before the court.

Lloyd also questioned whether there was any way an interim order could actually be enforced.

Flanagan claimed Viagogo breached the Fair Trading Act by pressuring consumers into purchasing tickets with countdown clocks and representations of scarcity and high interest.

Flanagan also said the company’s written guarantee of valid tickets couldn’t be fulfilled by the very nature of the marketplace.

The commission wanted the judge to issue an interim order that would temporarily prevent the company from trading in New Zealand. It was unclear how this would be achieved.

Evidence was presented by Flanagan that scalpers were encouraged to target events such as the 2018 Lions rugby tour, with emails sent out to potential sellers alerting them to the on-sell potential of the matches.

Subsequent checks by New Zealand Rugby at stadium gates found hundreds of spectators with invalid or fraudulent tickets that had been purchased via Viagogo.

The arguments were presented before Justice Patricia Courtney.

‘‘No-one thinks a guarantee is an absolute promise.’’ Aaron Lloyd, lawyer for Viagogo