Ticket resellers Viagogo have nabbed an award that they’re probably not going to be very proud of, winning an award at this year’s Shonky Choice Awards.
The awards, run by Choice, crown the worst-performing products and services that have given consumers poor value, have made false claims and had no transparency, among other things.
The ticket resellers are taking home the award for “Dodgy practices that tick off consumers” which they’re probably not going to receive willingly.
Choice has accused the website of using “pressure sales tactics” by displaying notices like “recently sold” and “last chance”. They’ve also accused them of reeling in consumers by using Google Adwords to appear at the top of the search engine, often above the official ticket seller.
On top of that, Viagogo often leave crucial details, like the seat number, off the ticket and some consumers are turned away from events when they arrive because they’re not real tickets.
“The company is notoriously difficult to contact despite promising on the website to “immediately check your order and give you a tailored answer”. Instead, some people have relied on their bank’s dispute process to get their money back,” Choice write.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking the ticketing reseller to court currently alleging that Viagogo has breached Australian Consumer Law by not being clear about the ticketing fees they charge and the type of ticket consumers are purchasing.
This year, Music Feeds has spotted Viagogo selling tickets to popular events like Ed Sheeran and Adele for over $1,000, hundreds of dollars over their retail cost.
The Shonky Choice Awards is also awarding Vitamin Gummies for “claiming vitamin lollies are good for kids’ teeth” and the Pain Erazor for “dubious pain-relief claims”.
Not the kind of awards you’d put in your trophy cabinet.
