The Federal Court has found ticket reseller Viagogo guilty of making false or misleading representations to consumers over the limit of tickets available for live music, entertainment and sporting events.
The court found Viagogo misled consumers by claiming tickets to certain events were scarce when the scarcity only referred to the tickets available on its resale platform and didn’t include tickets available elsewhere.
The Court also found that using the word "official" in its online advertisements was misleading. As a result of this, consumers were misled into thinking they were purchasing tickets from an official site, when in fact Viagogo is a ticket resale website.
“Viagogo’s claims misled consumers into buying tickets by including claims like ‘less than 1% tickets remaining’ to create a false sense of urgency,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims says.
“We urge consumers to only buy tickets from authorised sellers, or they risk their tickets being dishonored at the gates or doors."
The Court also found that from May 1 2017 to June 26 2017, Viagogo’s website claims drew consumers in with a headline price but failed to sufficiently disclose additional fees or specify a single price for tickets.
The additional fees included a 27.6% booking fee which applied to most tickets. The Court will determine penalties and orders against Viagogo at a later date.
“Viagogo was charging extraordinarily high booking fees and many consumers were caught out,” Sims says.
“Today’s Federal Court decision is a reminder to businesses that consumers must be clearly told that there are additional fees associated with a displayed price.”
Australian artists including Gang of Youths and Tash Sultana have both previously lashed out at the ticket resale platform for its business model, while comedian and former member of the ABC's The Weekly, Kitty Flanagan, has also taken swipes at the company.
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