GOOGLE PROFITS FROM TICKET SHARKS

Internet giant rakes in millions from dishonest website that is STILL fleecing thousands

GOOGLE is pocketing millions from a ‘fraudulent’ website that fleeces concertgoers on a ‘mass scale’ by hawking invalid secondhand tickets at extortionate prices.

Resale site Viagogo pays to appear at the top of results on internet searches for events including concerts by Taylor Swift, Paul Simon, Kylie Minogue, the Rolling Stones and Tom Jones.

Because it is ranked above the official ticket agent or promoter on Google – and does not state that it is a secondary site in the search result – at least half of buyers are fooled into thinking it is the official seller.

Viagogo also claims that all tickets are ‘100 per cent guaranteed’, but a Daily Mail investigation has found it:

Sells tickets for up to 13 times face value even when concert promoters warn that those bought on the resale site will be cancelled and ID checks carried out on the door to prevent entry;

Gives false information about the original face value of tickets, in a blatant disregard of Google advertising regulations;

Has ignored an advertising watchdog’s ruling this week to stop misleadingly suggesting that consumers buying on the site are guaranteed entry;

Flouted an order not to hide the full cost of the ticket until end of the booking – and continues to add massive fees at the last moment of a 14-stage buying process.

Experts say commercial outfits are buying up tickets and flooding resale websites with them to make a profit – which pushes ticket prices up for ordinary consumers.

Viagogo’s London offices were raided by the Competition and Markets Authority in November after claims that it buys up thousands of tickets from touts, then resells them at inflated costs.

Last March Viagogo bosses were summoned to appear before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee as part of an investigation into ticket touting, but failed to turn up.

MPs accused it of ‘naked mis-selling and fraud’ and lying to the public – and accused Google of ‘colluding’ with it by advertising it.

Ironically, the new complaints come a month after Google created a certificate service for ticket resale sites which it claimed would ‘radically increase their transparency’.

Campaigners yesterday criticised Google for continuing to allow the site to advertise, saying the certification was not working.

Viagogo uses extraordinary highpressure tactics to get people to buy tickets online, including using a ticking clock to give the impression that the offer is about to vanish and flashing up warnings that others are waiting to buy the ticket.

And it reveals the full price – including VAT and hefty ‘handling fee’ – only at the final moment when bank details are entered, which by then many fail to see in their rush to buy the tickets.

Those who realise before the event that they have bought an overpriced or unusable ticket are refused refunds and instead told to resell the ticket on the site, thus ‘passing on the misery’ to another victim.

Damian Collins, chairman of the culture select committee, has previscale ously described the secondary ticketing market – worth £1billion a year – as a ‘national scandal’.

Last year the Government promised a crackdown on such websites after the Competition and Markets Authority identified ‘widespread concerns about the information people are given, and gathered evidence which it considers reveal breaches of the law’.

The CMA said sites must make it clear if there are restrictions on using a resold ticket that could see buyers denied access to an event.

Reg Walker of the Iridium Consultancy, a leading expert on touts and ticketing irregularity, said: ‘The vast majority of tickets sold on Viagogo are sold by touts – if they exist at all. If there was any evidence of criminality, including touting, the tickets would be invalidated.

‘Our experience is, for anyone buying tickets from Viagogo, it’s not a question of if you’re going to be a victim, it’s when.’

He said that few genuine fans sell on tickets, and if they did it was usually to friends or relatives.

Research by Which? last year found half of those who bought tickets on resale websites thought the site was the official ticket seller.

Google’s certificate system says that resale sites advertising with it must prominently disclose themselves as a reseller, state that tickets may be above face value and list the face value of the ticket.

But Adam Webb of the FanFair Alliance campaign group said: ‘The public are being fleeced on a mass by sites like Viagogo. While it has had some positive impact, Google’s certification process is clearly not working as intended.

‘The fact resale sites like Viagogo, StubHub and Get Me In continue to use paid advertising to dominate Google searches means audiences will continue to be misled.’

Research by the FanFair Alliance found Viagogo appeared top in 65 per cent of Google ticket searches.

Viagogo claims to be ‘100 per cent safe and guaranteed’, but the Mail found a string of examples of tickets being resold despite clear warnings from event organisers that buyers were likely to be turned away.

The rip-offs show the site is flouting an Advertising Standards Authority ruling this week which banned it for suggesting that consumers were guaranteed entry.

The Mail bought a ticket for Taylor Swift at the BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Swansea in May for more than 13 times its face value.

The Viagogo website gave a 100 per cent guarantee that we would get ‘valid tickets in time for the event’. But the BBC website urges against buying from third party websites, warning that reselling tickets was forbidden and ‘those trying to use resold or cancelled tickets will be refused entry’.

Viagogo also claimed the face value of the ticket was £180 – ten times the real £18.

Last night Google executive Jessica Stansfield said: ‘When people use our platform to purchase tickets, we want to make sure they have an experience they can trust.

‘We believe that event ticket resellers that abide by these new transparency requirements will provide a better and safer user experience on our platform. If we discover an ad that breaks these policies, we quickly take action.’

Viagogo advised people to read the ‘frequently answered questions’ section of its website, but declined to make any further comment.

Comment – Page 18

‘It’s not if you’ll be a victim, but when’ ‘Audiences still being misled’