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Australian court rules against Viagogo

Australia’s Federal Court has agreed that Viagogo failed to sufficiently disclose additional fees or specify a single price for tickets during a period in 2017.

No penalty has been handed down to the resale website yet, although Viagogo managing director Cris Miller told Business Insider that the provider was “disappointed by the ruling” as it did not reflect “our current ticketing platform and the many changes we have made”.

The court ruled in favour of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which took action against Viagogo following complaints from hundreds of Australians.

“We urge consumers to only buy tickets from authorised sellers, or they risk their tickets being dishonoured at the gates or doors,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said. “Viagogo was charging extraordinarily high booking fees and many consumers were caught out.”

“Today’s Federal Court decision is a reminder to businesses that consumers must be clearly told that there are additional fees associated with a displayed price,” Sims said.

The court’s ruling was in relation to a period in 2017, running from May 1 to June 26, with Viagogo also said to have misled customers with the company’s use of the word ‘official’ in online advertisements.

Image: QuinceMedia