Viagogo is one of the most complained about businesses in Australia.
Viagogo acts as an online marketplace for private sellers of tickets. Viagogo has no authority to act on behalf of venues, agencies or promoters or to resell tickets.
It is not an “official” ticket seller for any venue in Australia.
In the majority of cases, venues will not honour tickets purchased through Viagogo.
Buyers have no recourse or any official place to turn when there are issues or tickets are not honoured.
Viagogo are ticket scalpers!
Do not buy tickets through or from Viagogo!
Avoid Ticket Scammers
Protect yourself against illegal ticket scamming by NOT buying tickets from resale services or scalpers.
To help protect you from ticket scams, we have put together this guide to inform you of the best way to purchase tickets, and what you can do in the event you have purchased fake or scam tickets.
WHAT IS TICKET SCALPING?
Ticket scalping is the practice of buying and reselling tickets for a profit. With new digital marketplaces available on the internet ticket scalping now exists in many forms across re-sale websites such as Ticketmaster Resale and Viagogo, and ‘buy, swap and sell’ sites such as eBay and Gumtree.
Scalpers may use a range of methods to make a profit, including selling tickets at an inflated price, buying tickets and then cancelling them once they have been resold, or making multiple copies of the same ticket.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
If you have purchased a ticket from an unofficial reseller or through an online marketplace, there is no guarantee that your ticket is valid for entry into the event.
Additionally, in the case the event is cancelled or postponed, you will not be able to access a refund or re-issued ticket through the official seller or venue box office.
HOW DO I AVOID SCALPING?
The simplest way to avoid scalping is to only ever purchase tickets from the authorised ticket seller for that event.
We warn not to purchase tickets from sites such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Queenoftickets, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia, Ticket Merchant, Ticker Blaster, TicketBis or any other unauthorised re-sellers.
Avoid using search engines such as Google to find tickets. Scalpers will often use advertising and web pages which look official to trick people into thinking they are visiting the authorised ticket seller’s site.
If you are unsure, the promoter, sports team or artists’ website will always include links to the official ticket seller for their events.
Always pay for tickets by credit or debit card where possible, as this will provide you with more protection if something goes wrong with your purchase.
WHAT IF THE EVENT IS SOLD OUT, OR THE TICKETS I WANT ARE COMING UP AS “ALLOCATION EXHAUSTED”?
If the event is sold out, or the category of tickets you are after is exhausted, don’t panic. Sign up to email updates from the artist or promoter and keep an eye on the venue’s social media pages, as new allocations may become available at a later date.
WHAT DO I DO IF I THINK MY TICKETS ARE SCALPED?
If you think you have purchased tickets that are scalped you should immediately contact the person or website who sold them to you. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to check the validity of a ticket without the original purchaser’s name and details.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I ATTEND AN EVENT WITH AN INVALID TICKET?
If you attend an event with a ticket purchased through an unofficial reseller you may not be admitted into the event. You may be able to purchase new tickets for this event at the venue box office, however, the event may be sold out or you may not be able to purchase equivalent tickets.
Staff at the box office will not be able to provide you with a refund or resolve any issues relating to a re-sold, fake or invalid ticket.
HOW DO I LODGE A COMPLAINT AGAINST AN UNAUTHORISED SELLER?
If you have an issue with tickets purchased through an unofficial agency, please return to the point of purchase. Your bank or credit card provider may also be able to provide you with a charge back.
You can also lodge a complaint with Consumer Affairs Victoria or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
If you need further proof, read Kitty’s story below..
Kitty Flanagan | April 2018
Kitty Flanagan has lashed out at Viagogo over the way in which it obtained and marketed tickets to her upcoming Melbourne International Comedy Festival performances.
The high-profile comedian took to social media earlier this week to protest the reseller buying Google Ad Words under her name.
The tactic means people searching for tickets to Flanagan’s upcoming performances will be presented with a link to Viagogo’s website, despite the company not being an authorised partner of the Melbourne Comedy Festival.
‘‘ Please do not get scammed,’’ Flanagan wrote. ‘‘ Viagogo are ticket scalpers. The tix … are stupidly priced and will not be honoured by the venues I’m playing.’’
The comedian urged fans who have already bought tickets on Viagogo to contact their venue for further information.
‘‘ We will be announcing extra shows in Melbourne and Sydney soon – please watch this space for details and genuine ticketing links,’’ she said. ‘‘ And just say no to Viagogo. Seriously, people, if you’re going to pay that much money call me direct. I’ll come round to your house and do a show in your living room!’’
A Melbourne Comedy Festival spokeswoman said people should avoid companies such as Viagogo.
‘‘ Melbourne Comedy Festival strongly urges patrons to avoid resellers such as Viagogo who mislead the public about the cost and availability of tickets,’’ she said. ‘‘ It has been reported [they] sell the same ticket several times over.
‘‘ We urge patrons to only buy tickets through approved primary resellers, which are not always the ones who pop up first in a Google search.’’
The spokeswoman said the festival urged the Victorian government to implement anti-ticket scalping laws similar to those recently introduced in NSW. She said tougher regulation would both protect consumers and ensure artists remained in control of ticket prices.
A bill on the matter is currently before the Victorian Parliament and is expected to be debated in the next week or so.
Customers left in the lurch by ticket scalpers can contact their credit card company for a refund.
Viagogo, which is one of the most complained about businesses in Australia, declined to comment.
Viagogo: Google urged to crack down on ticket resellers who are allegedly duping Australian fans
Consumer advocates have accused Google of being “complicit” in the controversial tactics used by some ticket resellers to allegedly dupe Australians into paying exorbitant fees to see their favourite sports teams and singers.
Consumer group Choice has called on the internet giant to stop accepting advertising money from ticket reselling companies.
Earlier this week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was taking ticket reseller Viagogo to court for allegedly engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.
The Swiss-based company, which also operates in the US, Europe and New Zealand, describes itself as an online ticket marketplace that allows consumers to buy and sell tickets to sporting events, concerts, and plays.
However, the ACCC said it had received 473 complaints about Viagogo from Australian consumers this year.
“We allege that Viagogo failed to disclose significant and unavoidable fees upfront in the ticket price, including a 27.6 per cent booking fee for most events and a handling fee,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
In May this year, Viagogo was selling tickets to the hit musical The Book of Mormon for $177.45 — a 31 per cent increase on the official ticket price.
That included a $37.50 booking fee and a $4.95 handling fee. The company is also accused of selling invalid or fake tickets.
Last year, a Melbourne teenager purchased a ticket to The Book of Mormon for $257 on the Viagogo site, only to be turned away at the Princess Theatre because it was invalid.
Updated
Full Disclosure
The publisher of this website: Ripefruit entered into an affiliation agreement with Viagogo in March 2014.
Ripefruit cancelled the agreement and withdrew all advertising in December 2014.
Every event page published now includes a warning against buying tickets through Viagogo.