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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/aug/01/viagogo-ticket-prices-fees-delivery-costs
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| How can Viagogo get away with charging such big fees? | How can Viagogo get away with charging such big fees? |
| (17 days later) | |
| I wanted to attend the BBC’s The Biggest Weekend festival and found three tickets on secondary ticketing site Viagogo, [where people who have bought tickets can sell them on]. The original face value was £18 each but I found I’d been charged £1,772 for the three [after fees were added to the seller’s new asking price]. I would never have bought them at that price. I asked for a refund but it was refused. Viagogo just suggests I relist the tickets, but this would have ripped somebody else off, too. | I wanted to attend the BBC’s The Biggest Weekend festival and found three tickets on secondary ticketing site Viagogo, [where people who have bought tickets can sell them on]. The original face value was £18 each but I found I’d been charged £1,772 for the three [after fees were added to the seller’s new asking price]. I would never have bought them at that price. I asked for a refund but it was refused. Viagogo just suggests I relist the tickets, but this would have ripped somebody else off, too. |
| I cannot afford to lose this money. I am a student and need it to pay my rent. | I cannot afford to lose this money. I am a student and need it to pay my rent. |
| SG, Swansea | SG, Swansea |
| I recently used Viagogo to buy two tickets for George Benson at the Royal Albert Hall. I guess I am a victim of its hard sell as the site reminds customers tickets are selling fast. Their face value was £75 but only after completing did I realise they had cost £430. | I recently used Viagogo to buy two tickets for George Benson at the Royal Albert Hall. I guess I am a victim of its hard sell as the site reminds customers tickets are selling fast. Their face value was £75 but only after completing did I realise they had cost £430. |
| I have been told by staff at the Royal Albert Hall that the majority of its high-value tickets were sold directly to an individual on Amazon who used Viagogo to resell at a huge premium. | I have been told by staff at the Royal Albert Hall that the majority of its high-value tickets were sold directly to an individual on Amazon who used Viagogo to resell at a huge premium. |
| PR, Englefield Green, Surrey | PR, Englefield Green, Surrey |
| I purchased tickets for the rugby autumn international Ireland v New Zealand from Viagogo. I believed I was paying €390 for five tickets and was constantly under pressure on the site with countdown clocks. | I purchased tickets for the rugby autumn international Ireland v New Zealand from Viagogo. I believed I was paying €390 for five tickets and was constantly under pressure on the site with countdown clocks. |
| It was only when I confirmed the purchase that I realised the cost was €2,400 for the tickets that haven’t even been released yet. | It was only when I confirmed the purchase that I realised the cost was €2,400 for the tickets that haven’t even been released yet. |
| KB, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim | KB, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim |
| Viagogo’s apparent brazenness has been breathtaking and, so far, it’s managed to profit with impunity. | Viagogo’s apparent brazenness has been breathtaking and, so far, it’s managed to profit with impunity. |
| In April the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) threatened it with legal action for failing to comply with its demands that it make its pricing more transparent. | In April the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) threatened it with legal action for failing to comply with its demands that it make its pricing more transparent. |
| A month later, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) reported it to National Trading Standards for similar defiance. | A month later, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) reported it to National Trading Standards for similar defiance. |
| The company has been cocking a snook at regulators since 2015 when the CMA ordered it to display the face value of tickets it was reselling. It didn’t. In 2017 the ASA told it to make its exorbitant fees and delivery charges clear at the start of the transaction. It didn’t. | The company has been cocking a snook at regulators since 2015 when the CMA ordered it to display the face value of tickets it was reselling. It didn’t. In 2017 the ASA told it to make its exorbitant fees and delivery charges clear at the start of the transaction. It didn’t. |
| Until recently, the final cost price of a ticket, including Viagogo’s fees, did not appear until the completion stages when customers were about to pay – resulting in some overlooking the total. This month, however, over a month after ASA’s deadline for compliance, it has started specifying add-on fees beneath the advertised ticket price, albeit in faded grey eclipsed by the lurid countdown clocks. | Until recently, the final cost price of a ticket, including Viagogo’s fees, did not appear until the completion stages when customers were about to pay – resulting in some overlooking the total. This month, however, over a month after ASA’s deadline for compliance, it has started specifying add-on fees beneath the advertised ticket price, albeit in faded grey eclipsed by the lurid countdown clocks. |
| However, it has still failed to respond to the CMA’s demands that it identify sellers, make clear the face value of tickets and warn customers that some venues do not accept tickets from secondary ticket websites. | However, it has still failed to respond to the CMA’s demands that it identify sellers, make clear the face value of tickets and warn customers that some venues do not accept tickets from secondary ticket websites. |
| The CMA is also concerned about the countdown clocks that hasten customers into a transaction before they’ve digested the small print. | The CMA is also concerned about the countdown clocks that hasten customers into a transaction before they’ve digested the small print. |
| The Royal Albert Hall says that the show’s promoter allocated tickets in PR’s row to Amazon, as it was a legitimate agency for the show. “It appears a member of the public purchased them and then resold on Viagogo,” it says. “We do everything in our power to prevent tickets from being bought for resale, and are very clear fans should avoid firms like Viagogo.” Amazon ceased operating as a ticket agency in March. | The Royal Albert Hall says that the show’s promoter allocated tickets in PR’s row to Amazon, as it was a legitimate agency for the show. “It appears a member of the public purchased them and then resold on Viagogo,” it says. “We do everything in our power to prevent tickets from being bought for resale, and are very clear fans should avoid firms like Viagogo.” Amazon ceased operating as a ticket agency in March. |
| Viagogo has not responded to requests for a comment. | Viagogo has not responded to requests for a comment. |
| If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions: see http://gu.com/letters-terms | If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions: see http://gu.com/letters-terms |
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