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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/oct/26/tickets-trader-viagogo-slammed-for-callous-resale-profiteering
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| Tickets trader Viagogo criticised for 'callous resale profiteering' Tickets trader Viagogo criticised for 'callous resale profiteering' | |
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| The ticketing website Viagogo has been branded “disgusting” for seeking to profit from a charity event hosted by the actor and comedian Peter Kay to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. | The ticketing website Viagogo has been branded “disgusting” for seeking to profit from a charity event hosted by the actor and comedian Peter Kay to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. |
| Criticism of Viagogo came as it emerged that the company and its competitors faced being questioned by a parliamentary select committee amid a political crackdown on ticket touting. | Criticism of Viagogo came as it emerged that the company and its competitors faced being questioned by a parliamentary select committee amid a political crackdown on ticket touting. |
| Tickets for Kay’s Dance for Life events went on sale last weekend at a face value of £28.50, with all profits donated to the cancer charity. Hundreds of fans tried to buy tickets as soon as they went on sale, but missed out and thensaw tickets for the events appear on Viagogo minutes later and for hundreds of pounds. | Tickets for Kay’s Dance for Life events went on sale last weekend at a face value of £28.50, with all profits donated to the cancer charity. Hundreds of fans tried to buy tickets as soon as they went on sale, but missed out and thensaw tickets for the events appear on Viagogo minutes later and for hundreds of pounds. |
| There has been growing scrutiny of touts who use a variety of specialist methods to harvest hundreds of tickets within seconds to sell at a profit via secondary ticketing platforms such as Viagogo. | There has been growing scrutiny of touts who use a variety of specialist methods to harvest hundreds of tickets within seconds to sell at a profit via secondary ticketing platforms such as Viagogo. |
| Tickets for the Dance for Life event appeared on Viagogo’s website over the weekend. One ticket, at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, was listed for £9,745.95, including VAT and a “booking fee” of £2,062.50 that would go directly to Viagogo if a buyer were found. | Tickets for the Dance for Life event appeared on Viagogo’s website over the weekend. One ticket, at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, was listed for £9,745.95, including VAT and a “booking fee” of £2,062.50 that would go directly to Viagogo if a buyer were found. |
| Industry insiders said the highest priced tickets tended to be listed as a publicity stunt rather than with an expectation of a sale, but that many other tickets listed for hundreds of pounds were likely to sell. | Industry insiders said the highest priced tickets tended to be listed as a publicity stunt rather than with an expectation of a sale, but that many other tickets listed for hundreds of pounds were likely to sell. |
| Viagogo, which has a large call centre in London but has headquarters in Geneva, typically takes up to 25% on the value of tickets sold. | Viagogo, which has a large call centre in London but has headquarters in Geneva, typically takes up to 25% on the value of tickets sold. |
| Claire Rowney, director of Stand Up To Cancer, at Cancer Research UK, said: “All the money we raise will help fund vital research that will accelerate new treatments and tests to UK patients and save more lives, more quickly. We’ve been made aware that tickets are being sold for much more than the set ticket price, with the profit going to the seller and not to the charity. | Claire Rowney, director of Stand Up To Cancer, at Cancer Research UK, said: “All the money we raise will help fund vital research that will accelerate new treatments and tests to UK patients and save more lives, more quickly. We’ve been made aware that tickets are being sold for much more than the set ticket price, with the profit going to the seller and not to the charity. |
| “Cancer Research UK relies entirely on the generosity of the public to fund our life-saving research and so we encourage anyone who is buying a ticket, to support the event, to be aware of any sellers who are not donating all the profits to Stand Up To Cancer.” | “Cancer Research UK relies entirely on the generosity of the public to fund our life-saving research and so we encourage anyone who is buying a ticket, to support the event, to be aware of any sellers who are not donating all the profits to Stand Up To Cancer.” |
| The Conservative MP Nigel Adams, who recently tabled an amendment recommending criminalisation of the use by touts of software called “bots” to harvest tickets, called on Viagogo to donate its profits to Cancer Research UK. “I would like to think that Viagogo would do the right thing and donate [an] appropriate margin from their commission towards the charity. I’m sure Peter Kay would be interested. If they don’t it would be a sad reflection on them.” | The Conservative MP Nigel Adams, who recently tabled an amendment recommending criminalisation of the use by touts of software called “bots” to harvest tickets, called on Viagogo to donate its profits to Cancer Research UK. “I would like to think that Viagogo would do the right thing and donate [an] appropriate margin from their commission towards the charity. I’m sure Peter Kay would be interested. If they don’t it would be a sad reflection on them.” |
| Kay did not respond to requests for comment. | Kay did not respond to requests for comment. |
| Adams added that he hoped to talk in person to executives from ticket resale firms such as Viagogo, StubHub, GetMeIn and Seatwave. “I’ll be pushing for a further select committee enquiry into ticketing because technology has developed. Industrial touting and the fleecing of fans continues apace. I’d like to see all the ticketing sites appear before the inquiry.” | Adams added that he hoped to talk in person to executives from ticket resale firms such as Viagogo, StubHub, GetMeIn and Seatwave. “I’ll be pushing for a further select committee enquiry into ticketing because technology has developed. Industrial touting and the fleecing of fans continues apace. I’d like to see all the ticketing sites appear before the inquiry.” |
| The Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who has campaigned for reform of ticketing, said: “It seems that nothing is beyond their grasp and greed. And their willingness to exploit some of the most vulnerable in society whilst they are in a life or death battle – such as cancer patients – by profiteering in such a callous fashion, shows the very worst aspect of their business model.” | The Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who has campaigned for reform of ticketing, said: “It seems that nothing is beyond their grasp and greed. And their willingness to exploit some of the most vulnerable in society whilst they are in a life or death battle – such as cancer patients – by profiteering in such a callous fashion, shows the very worst aspect of their business model.” |
| Fans expressed their disappointment on Twitter after missing out on tickets and seeing them resold at a profit. | Fans expressed their disappointment on Twitter after missing out on tickets and seeing them resold at a profit. |
| Sad to see people buying tickets for @peterkay_co_uk dance for life for life&selling them on for a lot more, no wonder we couldnt get one | Sad to see people buying tickets for @peterkay_co_uk dance for life for life&selling them on for a lot more, no wonder we couldnt get one |
| Kiah Smith, 19, from Leeds, said she, her mother and a friend tried to get tickets for the Lancashire comedian’s dance-a-thon the morning they went on sale but were unsuccessful. “I am absolutely disgusted tickets that were originally bought for the original face value of £28.50 are now being sold for £100 and above,” she said. “There are genuine fans and people who want to go to the show to see Peter Kay and raise money for charity, and ticket touts are making a large margin of profit from them … it’s horrible. I was hoping to buy these tickets for my family as a Christmas present and now no one gets to go and these people are making a fortune out of it. It is even more disgusting because this is an event for charity and those able to pay upwards of a £100 per ticket could spend that extra money at the event and donating it to charity.” | Kiah Smith, 19, from Leeds, said she, her mother and a friend tried to get tickets for the Lancashire comedian’s dance-a-thon the morning they went on sale but were unsuccessful. “I am absolutely disgusted tickets that were originally bought for the original face value of £28.50 are now being sold for £100 and above,” she said. “There are genuine fans and people who want to go to the show to see Peter Kay and raise money for charity, and ticket touts are making a large margin of profit from them … it’s horrible. I was hoping to buy these tickets for my family as a Christmas present and now no one gets to go and these people are making a fortune out of it. It is even more disgusting because this is an event for charity and those able to pay upwards of a £100 per ticket could spend that extra money at the event and donating it to charity.” |
| Absolutely gutted I didn't get tickets for @peterkay_co_uk dance for life next year 💔💔💔💔 sold out well fast | Absolutely gutted I didn't get tickets for @peterkay_co_uk dance for life next year 💔💔💔💔 sold out well fast |
| Viagogo, which has also been warned that it could face legal action for advertising tickets before they go on sale, did not respond to a request for comment. | Viagogo, which has also been warned that it could face legal action for advertising tickets before they go on sale, did not respond to a request for comment. |
| Last month, the ticket resale websites Seatwave and GetMeIn, both owned by Ticketmaster, agreed to remove tickets for the BBC Children in Need Rocks for Terry event from their website. | Last month, the ticket resale websites Seatwave and GetMeIn, both owned by Ticketmaster, agreed to remove tickets for the BBC Children in Need Rocks for Terry event from their website. |
| Seatwave lists tickets for the Peter Kay Dance for Life event, but has pledged to donate all of its commission from their sale to Cancer Research UK. However, those using Seatwave to sell the tickets could simply bank their profits. | Seatwave lists tickets for the Peter Kay Dance for Life event, but has pledged to donate all of its commission from their sale to Cancer Research UK. However, those using Seatwave to sell the tickets could simply bank their profits. |
| Secondary ticketing has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, following the tabling of an amendment to the digital economy bill that would usher in jail terms for touts who use “bots” to grab tickets within seconds of their going on sale. | Secondary ticketing has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, following the tabling of an amendment to the digital economy bill that would usher in jail terms for touts who use “bots” to grab tickets within seconds of their going on sale. |
| A government-backed review by Mike Waterson, an economics professor at Warwick University, warned this year that websites could be flouting consumer rights law. | A government-backed review by Mike Waterson, an economics professor at Warwick University, warned this year that websites could be flouting consumer rights law. |
| Viagogo is the brainchild of Eric Baker, 43, an American tech expert who co-founded the ticketing website StubHub which he sold to eBay for $310m (£254m), a deal believed to have made him more than $30m. | Viagogo is the brainchild of Eric Baker, 43, an American tech expert who co-founded the ticketing website StubHub which he sold to eBay for $310m (£254m), a deal believed to have made him more than $30m. |
| Viagogo has grown rapidly, capitalising on the huge demand for live events by providing a marketplace for people to resell tickets – often at a hefty mark-up – and taking a commission. A fundraising effort in 2009 valued the company at $300m but it is believed to have grown significantly. However, since it moved from the UK to Switzerland in 2012 its financial accounts have been private. | Viagogo has grown rapidly, capitalising on the huge demand for live events by providing a marketplace for people to resell tickets – often at a hefty mark-up – and taking a commission. A fundraising effort in 2009 valued the company at $300m but it is believed to have grown significantly. However, since it moved from the UK to Switzerland in 2012 its financial accounts have been private. |
| The company’s investors include the tennis players Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, Bernard Arnault, chief executive of the luxury brand LVMH, and the financier Jacob Rothschild. | The company’s investors include the tennis players Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, Bernard Arnault, chief executive of the luxury brand LVMH, and the financier Jacob Rothschild. |
| It also secured investment from Saul and Robin Klein; the latter is on the board of Tech City UK, an initiative set up by Britain’s former prime minister David Cameron. | It also secured investment from Saul and Robin Klein; the latter is on the board of Tech City UK, an initiative set up by Britain’s former prime minister David Cameron. |