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Viagogo agrees to UK competition authority demands on ticket resales

Viagogo agrees to UK competition authority demands on ticket resales
December 8, 2018

Ticket reseller Viagogo has advised that it has reached a “ground-breaking settlement” with the UK Competition and Markets Authority bringing an end to the legal dispute between the two parties.

Vowing to “overhaul the way it does business”, Viagogo has said it will publish face value ticket price information on its website after agreeing to comply with a court order issued following enforcement action by the UK’s competition watchdog.

With the two parties having been in dispute since 2012, the CMA began legal action against the company in August. The CMA had demanded that Viagogo must make a series of changes by mid-January or risk a resumption of enforcement proceedings.

A statement from Viagogo advised “the agreement with the CMA will enable buyers and sellers to exchange tickets with more transparency and additional information, such as Face Value, will be displayed on the website. It reflects a desire to ensure that the consumer has as much information as possible before making their purchase decision.”

Welcoming the settlement, a spokesperson for Viagogo advised “we are pleased that we have been able to work closely with the CMA to come to an agreement that provides even greater transparency to consumers.”

Adam Webb, Campaign Manager at the FanFair Alliance said Viagogo should have followed rivals such as StubHub in agreeing to make changes well before a court order was needed.

Webb stated “while the UK’s ticket resale market undergoes a long-awaited transformation, Viagogo has effectively become a rogue operator. That it’s required a court order to force their compliance with existing legislation is nothing short of extraordinary.

“Effectively, it means Viagogo have been given until mid-January to overhaul their bad practices. If they fail to do that, they should feel the full force of the law.”

Meanwhile, journalist Mark McGivern from Scottish newspaper the Daily Record mocked the company’s announcement about the development, with the company’s claim it had reached a “settlement” with the CMA.

McGivern, who has regularly covered stories about Viagogo, tweeted: “THIS isn’t an agreement - it’s a humiliating slapdown to a grubby company…. This press release uses same distortion Viagogo has applied to everything it does – proves they don’t give a damn…#toutsout”

Related Articles

1st December 2018 - UK court ruling set to see Viagogo having to reimburse fans

30th November 2018 - LPA welcomes Labor Plans on Ticketing and Music

18th October 2018 - Cricket fans warned against buying Big Bash tickets from resellers

12th September 2018 - Viagogo responds to calls for Google AdWords service to reject its resales

5th June 2018 - FIFA makes criminal complaint against ticket reseller Viagogo

31st May 2018 - Viagogo faces UK investigation as Minister urges boycott

30th May 2018 - Ed Sheeran’s strong stance against ticket scalpers has global impact

25th April 2018 - Viagogo faces UK court action for failing to protect consumers

1st September 2017 - Google urged to block online resellers who dupe ticket buyers

13th May 2017 - Labor shadow minister slams Google and Viagogo over sales of fake concert tickets

22nd March 2017 - Senate passes resolution calling for reform of laws against ticket scalping

8th March 2017 - Choice Magazine accuses ticket resale sites of misleading fans

23rd February 2017 - Ticket reseller Viagogo hit by multiple Spanish legal actions

7th December 2016 - Overseas authorities introduce anti ticket scalping legislation

25th September 2013 - 500,000 Australians a year caught out by online ticket scams


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