What action is the Commission taking against Viagogo?
The Commission is filing High Court civil proceedings against Viagogo under the Fair Trading Act.
What is the Commission’s case about?
The Commission will allege that Viagogo made false or misleading representations:
that it was an “official” seller, when it was not
that tickets were limited or about to sell out
that consumers were “guaranteed” to receive valid tickets for their event
about the price of tickets, when Viagogo’s ‘headline’ prices were unobtainable because of the addition of GST and various fees.
The Commission will also allege that Viagogo’s contract includes an unfair contract term. The term states that all disputes brought by a consumer must be heard in Swiss courts under Swiss law, but Viagogo can choose to take court action against consumers in the consumer's own country.
Will the Commission be seeking refunds for consumers who purchased from Viagogo?
The Commission is not seeking refunds for individual customers. Our case seeks declarations that Viagogo has breached the law, an injunction restraining it from further breaches and corrective advertising orders.
If you have purchased a ticket off the Viagogo website and would like a refund, you should continue to seek a refund directly from Viagogo, or try contacting your bank to discuss any options you may have.
You can let us know about your experience by contacting the Commission through our website and making a complaint to us so we can keep records of people who say they have been affected by Viagogo’s conduct.
I only want my money back. The Commission is not seeking refunds for consumers. What is the point of me making a complaint?
Your information could help us to prevent other customers from being misled. Although the Commission is not seeking refunds for individuals, general details about the experience of individual consumers, and the number of New Zealand consumers who have had a problem when purchasing through the Viagogo website, may be helpful to the Commission in understanding the issues that New Zealand consumers using the Viagogo website have experienced and may still be experiencing.
I have bought a ticket from Viagogo for an event and I was not able to use it at the venue as I was told it was invalid. Can I get my money back?
You should try to contact Viagogo directly, or alternatively you could try contacting your bank to see if it can assist you.
I bought tickets from the Viagogo website for an event and was able to go to the event, but I paid more than the original ticket price. What can I do?
The Commission’s case does not cover high prices for tickets. There is no law in New Zealand that prevents event tickets being resold for a higher price than the original sale price of the ticket, except where the event is covered by the Major Events Management Act 2007. Read more about buying event tickets.
How long will the Commission’s case take to be heard?
At this stage it is not possible to say – the case is complex and may take some time to be heard by the High Court.
Will the Commission keep consumers informed about its case?
We will keep consumers informed when we can by updating the case on our case register and/or issuing a media release.
