Industry News

Viagogo tops NSW complaint register for second month

Viagogo has topped the New South Wales (NSW) Fair Trading’s complaint register for the second month in a row.

The secondary ticketing site notched 36 new complaints in September, according to the register that lists business that are the subject of 10 or more complaints in a month.

New South Wales, whose cities include Sydney, is Australia’s most populous state with 7.5 million people.

NSW Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean said that in August, Viagogo had 59 complaints against it, which is the highest number received by any trader in a single month since the register began almost a year ago.

Viagogo is already facing federal court charges brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) over alleged misleading representations and huge booking fees.

Kean issued a public warning about Viagogo in August, after other complaints about the fees, failure to provide refunds, delayed delivery and event cancellations.

“I won’t tolerate this kind of shonky behaviour, and as the register clearly shows, NSW consumers have had a gutful as well,” he said

The state parliament recently approved new regulation that caps the price of resold tickets at 10 per cent, in a move that could redefine the secondary ticketing sector in Australia.

Kean announced the plans to prevent resellers from being able to offer tickets for more than the original sale price, while transaction costs would be capped at 10 per cent.

The Australian state of Victoria is also looking into similar changes in the law, with a motion introduced by Nick Xenophon earlier this year passing through the Senate.