Public is warned not to use secondary ticketing website Viagogo

MPS have issued a warning to the public against using secondary ticketing website Viagogo until it “fully complies with consumer law”, a report has said.

The caution comes from a report into live music, published by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, in which its chairman Damian Collins said the “highly unusual step” in advising consumers to avoid the platform is imperative until it fully complies with consumer law. The report further claims that Viagogo has “caused distress for too many music fans for too long”.

The online ticketing company has been singled out by MPS in the report, saying that until the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can bring the site in line with consumer law, “we advise the public not to buy or sell tickets via Viagogo”.

The DCMS Committee’s warning comes two weeks after the CMA said there are “still issues of concern” regarding Viagogo, as it was not complying with a court order requiring that it improve information displayed about the tickets listed on the site. The watchdog said it was preparing to take further legal action against Viagogo to find the platform “in contempt”.

At the time, Viagogo said it “strongly believes” it is not in breach of the court order, and that it has made several successful improvements to the platform “to meet the compliance requirements of the order”.

The DCMS Committee report says that Viagogo, more so than other secondary ticketing sites, has caused distress to music fans for too long due to its “business practices”.

MPS say that the company has shown an “unwillingness to appear before the Committee and provide oral evidence” and that it has demonstrated “disdain for not only the legislative process, but its customers”.

The report – based on an inquiry into the economic, cultural and social benefits of live music in the UK and which included more than 80 submissions of written evidence, almost two-thirds of which related to ticket abuse – includes an example where one customer paid £225 for two tickets which they later learned had a face value of £45 each.

The customer said they were not informed of the total cost of the tickets until after they had confirmed the purchase, and that there were no options to cancel the purchase.

Viagogo’s customer service team was also criticised in the report, which cited an example from one person from their inquiry who said they struggled to obtain a refund due to an “automated response” every time they sought help.

As well as issues regarding the cost of resold tickets, another criticism was that sellers on Viagogo do not always share significant information, such as the venue having banned ticket resale by customers.

Viagogo has been contacted for comment.