SYDNEY, NSW (CelebrityAccess) — Online ticket resale platform Viagogo is headed to Federal Court in Australia to answer allegations that it breached the Australian Consumer Law when reselling entertainment, music and sports tickets.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Authority alleged that Viagogo made false or misleading representations about prices for tickets sold via its online service.
“We allege that Viagogo failed to disclose significant and unavoidable fees upfront in the ticket price, including a 27.6 per cent booking fee for most events and a handling fee,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
Examples cited by the ACCC include a Book of Mormon ticket that saw a price increase of $135 to $177.45 (31% increase) when the $37.50 booking fee and $4.95 handling fees were included,, or the total price for two Cat Stevens tickets, which increased from $450.00 to $579.95 (29% increase) when the $125 booking fee and $4.95 handling fees were included.
The ACCC also alleged that Viagogo misled consumers by suggesting that tickets to some events were likely to run out soon without noting that the scarcity in question referred just to tickets on Viagogo and not from other sources. Viagogo is also on the hook with the ACCC over allegations that they misled consumers by promoting Viagogo as an authorized ticket seller through the use of the word ‘official’ in search engine advertisements such as Google.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions, financial penalties, corrective publication orders, orders for a compliance program and costs.
Viagogo did not respond to a request for comment.
