Court orders Viagogo to clean up business practises in UK

Viagogo has agreed to make changes to the way it does business in the UK after the country’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) secured a landmark court order from the High Court of London.

The CMA launched legal proceedings in August after numerous complaints from consumers.

The controversial ticket reseller agreed to concerns by the CMA and avoided going to ’court.

As a result, Viagogo will from mid-January:

* Tell purchasers of tickets if there is a risk that they will be turned away at the door

* Inform customers which seat in the venue they will get

* Provide information about who is selling the ticket, so people can benefit from enhanced legal rights when buying from a business

* Not give misleading information about the availability and popularity of tickets – which had the potential to lead to customers being rushed into making a buying decision or making the wrong choice

* Make it easy for people to get their money back under Viagogo’s guarantee when things go wrong

* Prevent the sale of tickets a seller does not own and may not be able to supply

* The order is legally binding and can be enforced by a court.

Andrea Coscelli, CEO of CMA said: “This court order is a victory for anyone who decides to buy a ticket through Viagogo.

“We have been clear throughout our investigation that people who use these resale websites must know key facts before parting with their hard-earned money, including what seat they will get and whether there is a risk they might not actually get into the event at all.”

Viagogo issued a settlement. “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.”

The anti-secondary ticketing campaign group FanFair Alliance commented that while the UK’s ticket resale market had gone through a transformation, “Viagogo has effectively become a rogue operator.”

Its campaign manager Adam Webb stated: “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.”

Earlier this year, Viagogo made a great show in declaring it was going to sue Ed Sheeran’s promoter Stuart Galbraith for cancelling thousands of tickets for his stadium tour which had been sold via its site.

Galbraith said this month it had not gone through with its threat.