The Australian Labor Party is calling for the federal government to protect Australian consumers against scam ticket seller Viagogo.
Labor has been lobbying the government since May 10 to look into the Viagogo platform and take action.
A study by Choice magazine has found 79% of people using the scam software were under the illusion that Viagogo is an authorised reseller. It is not.
Consumers have reported being overcharged on their purchases, 8% of people surveyed received fake tickets and 11% never received their purchased tickets. Ed Sheeran fans were the most ripped off fans followed by Adele.
75% of people who used Viagogo paid more than the face value of the ticket. 3% of Viagogo users were denied access to the shows they went to see.
Problems with the platform include Viagogo designing its buy button to look similar to official sites, Viagogo using social media to promote its tickets and Viagogo paying Google to prioritise search engine placement. With 66% of people finding Viagogo via Google the search engine is a major contributor to the scam. The ACCC allege Viagogo is engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. A request has also gone to Google to investigate the deceptive statements.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it will take Viagogo to the Federal Court for breaches of Australian consumer law.
Viagogo is accused of using sneaky tactics to close a sale including telling people they are scoring “the cheapest ticket”, that the sale is for the “last tickets left” and that “tickets for performer are in high demand”.
Viagogo is often overpricing tickets. $7 tickets to a Geelong football match were selling for $70, Adele tickets had a 673% markup, Ed Sheeran had a 657% markup and Elton John tickets were 520% more expensive than face value.
Other resellers accused of overcharging are Ticketmaster Resale, Seatwave and StubHub.
Labor will look into ticket price caps, a total ban on resale and bans on bots initiating resales.
