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Viagogo

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viagogo (Scammer/Internet Fraud/Money Laundering - Officially proven by regulators in many nations). PLEASE BUY AND SELL AT YOUR OWN RISK. Do read through various review and comments from Facebook and other rating agency before purchase.
Product typeTicket resale (Scam)
OwnerStubHub Holdings
CountryDelaware, United States[1]
Introduced2006
Related brandsStubHub
MarketsSecondary and primary ticketing sales (Scam)
Previous ownersPugnacious LLC[2]
Websitewww.viagogo.com

Viagogo, stylized by the company as viagogo, is a fake multinational ticket exchange and ticket resale brand to scam people's money. It is headquartered in the United States. Viagogo is backed by investors such as Index Ventures, Brent Hoberman, and Jacob Rothschild. Viagogo is still able to run its business undeterred after it openly scammed many, through backing of governmental entities or private financial firm.

The company has been criticized for inflation via ticket resale, zero transparency, and in most cases, having sold counterfeit tickets, never refunding client or the seller. These controversies have led to legal action in some of the countries where Viagogo operates, and also led the UK Competition & Markets Authority to order changes to Viagogo's operations.

History

Viagogo possesses countless dark web history including scam/fraudulent case, bribery, money laundering and various criminal cases.

Operations - How Viagogo perform scamming

The Viagogo fake itself as a brand that facilitates the sale of live sport, music, and entertainment tickets through an online platform but in fact it is an illegal organization that are holding "Legal License" (acquired through illegal under table deal). The main business from Viagogo is to lure buyer/seller to trade their tickets through the platform then Viagogo will not release payment to seller or never refund cancelled ticket to buyer by any means. Although Viagogo have customer service team, they are total USELESS. If you send an email to Viagogo, it will just muddle through using auto-reply. Even if there's someone call you, they will just repeat the same USELESS ANSWER despite you proven to them you never receive any refund/payment by sending them official bank statement.

They have also faced criticism after they resold charity tickets to an Ed Sheeran cancer benefit concert at highly inflated prices.[3]

A German court in 2011 banned Viagogo from claiming tickets it sold for the tour were guaranteed.[4] In early 2011, Viagogo sold personalised tickets for Take That's 2011 Progress tour to German customers. Some people were not able to enter the concerts in Hamburg and Munich.[5] A German court banned Viagogo from claiming that the validity of the Take That tickets is “100% guaranteed”.[6]

The UEFA filed a criminal complaint in France against Viagogo for illegal ticket sales of the soccer game Euro 2016.[7]

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued Viagogo in 2017.[8] In August 2017, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission launched legal action against Viagogo with "allegations it made false or misleading representations, and engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by failing to disclose substantial fees included in the price of tickets."[9]

In February 2017, the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE) sued Viagogo in Italy over resold tickets for artists such as Lady Gaga and Vasco Rossi.[10]

In early 2017, Viagago faced a lawsuit in Spain over a postponed show for Joaquín Sabina.[11]

French authorities filed a complaint against Viagogo in Geneva in October 2017.[12] In December 2017, France’s Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) ordered Viagogo to end "deception" in its sales practices, including "drip pricing".[13]

In January 2018, FIFA obtained a preliminary injunction against Viagogo.[14] A German court levied an injunction against Viagogo for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[15]

In April 2018, Viagogo was fined one million Euros in Italy.[16]

In August 2018, New Zealand's Commerce Commission sued Viagogo after it sold non-existent tickets for a Bruno Mars concert for NZ$700.[17]

In 2018, the Spanish Interior Ministry opened a fraud probe into viagogo related to U2 tickets.[18] The Viagogo investigation by the Spanish Interior Ministry was ongoing in April 2018.[16]

The company is the only ticket resale site to have refused to work with Ed Sheeran to prevent ticket touts reselling tickets for his tours.[19] In September 2018, Viagogo sued Ed Sheeran's promoter Kilimanjaro Live and CEO Stuart Galbraith for fraud in Germany over the cancellations, with Kilimanjaro refuting the claims.[20]

In November 2018, a Hamburg court issued an injunction against Viagogo for Rammstein's 2019 Europe Stadium Tour.[21][22]

A Munich court filed a case against Viagogo (Az. 33 O 6588/17) in June 2019.[23]

Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency issued a warning about Viagogo's sales practices in late 2019.[24]

In the United States, in August 2020 Viagogo faced litigation over its pandemic refund policy, with fans arguing that Viagogo had improperly classified certain shows as postponed instead of canceled to avoid paying refunds.[25] With Viagogo refuting the claims,[26] class action status of the lawsuit was refused by a Florida judge in July 2021 after a motion by Viagogo Entertainment Inc.[27]

The Federal Court of Australia levied a AU$7 million fine in October 2020 for misleading consumers.[28] In October 2020, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission fined Viagogo AU$7 million for misleading consumers, stating that they were an "official" seller of tickets to particular events, that certain tickets were scarce and for failing to disclose a 27.6% booking fee until late into the booking process.[29][30][31][28]

In 2021, complaints were received by the agency WellingtonNZ concerning Viagogo overpricing tickets to the musical Jersey Boys and the art event Van Gogh Alive.[32] As at February 2021 the New Zealand Commerce Commission is continuing to pursue legal action against Viagogo for false representations about ticket prices, their scarcity and the validity of tickets sold.[32]

UK government

They were involved in a legal battle with the UK Rugby Football Union (RFU) after they sold tickets which the RFU had forbidden from being resold for profit. Viagogo lost the initial trial and an appeal in the lower courts in December 2011,[33] resulting in the issuing of a Norwich Pharmacal order.

In November 2012, Viagogo was ordered to give the RFU the names and addresses of certain second-hand ticket sellers.[34]

Starting in November 2016, Viagogo and other secondary ticketing companies in the UK faced investigations from the UK government, including from the UK Tax Office and CMA.[35]

After the company failed to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee of the UK Parliament in March 2017, Hodgson and fellow committee member Nigel Adams visited its London headquarters the following July, but the party was turned away.[36][37]

The UK Government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee opened an inquiry into ticket abuse in November 2017.[38]

The UK Competition & Markets Authority started to build a case against Viagogo in November 2017.[39] The UK Competition and Market Authority started to build a case against Viagogo in November 2017.[40]

In May 2018, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) referred its ongoing case against Viagogo to Trading Standards.[41]

In May 2018, the UK's Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Margot James, told BBC Radio 5 Live listeners planning to buy from secondary ticket sites, "don't choose Viagogo - they are the worst".[42] She gave this advice after the Advertising Standards Authority asked National Trading Standards to investigate Viagogo's alleged breaches of UK advertising rules about making any additional fees clear.[42] Viagogo is no longer under investigation by trading standards after complying with the ASA ruling.[43]

In August 2018, the UK Competition & Markets Authority confirmed it would be seeking court action against Viagogo following concerns that it is breaching consumer protection law.[44] In July 2019, the UK Competition and Marketing Authority began legal proceedings against Viagogo for contempt of court as a result of the company ignoring repeated warnings to comply with consumer law.[45]

On 27 November 2018, the UK Competition & Markets Authority stated that Viagogo had, effective 17 January 2019, agreed to perform a "comprehensive overhaul" of its services in order to improve their transparency, and strengthen the guarantees it provides to consumers. Among other changes Viagogo agreed to list the identity of the seller and whether they are a professional trader (defined as performing more than 100 sales in a year), as well as seat numbers and the original face value of the ticket, and any risk that the ticketholder may be turned away due to resale restrictions. In addition, the company was required to cease using misleading indications of how many seats remain for an event, and not to advertise ticket sales for events whose ticketing policies restrict resale.[46]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Home Tickets".
  2. ^ "New StubHub owner Viagogo faces big financial questions with no easy answers".
  3. ^ Davies, Rob (17 February 2017). "Viagogo condemned over Ed Sheeran cancer benefit concert tickets". The Guardian.
  4. ^ "0711 decision by district court hamburg". www.slideshare.net. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2018.[better source needed]
  5. ^ "Viagogo: Hintergründe zu fehlerhaften Take That-Tickets" [Viagogo:Background circumstances about faulty Take That-tickets]. Netzwelt (in German). 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Decision by District Court Hamburg" (JPEG). Slideshare.net. Hamburg District Court. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2017.[better source needed]
  7. ^ Davies, Rob (8 July 2016). "Uefa takes action against Viagogo over illegal Euro 2016 ticket sales". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "ACCC takes ticket reseller Viagogo to court". Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. 28 August 2017.
  9. ^ Cormack, Lucy (28 August 2017). "ACCC takes Viagogo to court over alleged consumer law breaches". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ "SIAE IN LEGAL BLITZ AGAINST TOUTS, VIAGOGO". IQ. 20 February 2017.
  11. ^ Chapple, Jon (22 February 2017). "VIAGOGO HIT BY MULTIPLE SPECULATIVE SELLING SUITS". IQ.
  12. ^ "La FRC dépose une plainte contre Viagogo à Genève". Le Temps (in French). 3 October 2017.
  13. ^ Chapple, Jon (7 December 2017). "French authorities order Viagogo to end 'deception'". IQ.
  14. ^ "FIFA obtains preliminary injunction against viagogo". FIFA. 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018.
  15. ^ Massey, Melissa (17 April 2018). "FIFA World Cup 2018 tickets being listed illegitimately". Which?.
  16. ^ a b Gottfried, Gideon (4 April 2018). "Viagogo Fined One Million Euros In Italy, Investigated In Spain". Pollstar.
  17. ^ Nadkarni, Anuja (15 August 2018). "Commerce Commission taking online ticket resale website Viagogo to court". stuff.co.nz.
  18. ^ "Spain opens fraud probe after online resale of U2 concert tickets for more than €900". El País. 14 February 2018.
  19. ^ Savage, Mark (22 May 2018). "How Ed Sheeran is tackling ticket touts". BBC News.
  20. ^ Smirke, Richard (4 September 2018). "Viagogo Launches Legal Action Against Ed Sheeran Promoter Over Alleged Fraud". Billboard.
  21. ^ Chapple, Jon (22 November 2018). "Rammstein tour: German court forbids Viagogo resale". IQ.
  22. ^ Sanchez, Daniel (23 November 2018). "A German Court Bans Viagogo from Selling Rammstein Tickets. So Far, the Order Is Being Ignored". Digital Music News.
  23. ^ "LG München I, 04.06.2019 - 33 O 6588/17 | Az. 33 O 6588/17". 4 June 2019.
  24. ^ "チケット転売の仲介サイト「viagogo」に関する注意喚起". 13 September 2019.
  25. ^ "Competition watchdog clears Viagogo-Stubhub merger". BBC News. 8 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Viagogo denies withholding refunds for gigs hit by coronavirus". BBC News. 23 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Ticket Seller Viagogo Beats Class Bid in Covid Refund Lawsuit".
  28. ^ a b McKinnell, Jamie (1 October 2020). "Ticket reseller Viagogo fined $7 million for misleading Australian consumers". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  29. ^ "ACCC orders ticket reseller Viagogo to pay $7m fine for misleading consumers". The Guardian. 2 October 2020.
  30. ^ "Viagogo to pay $7 million for misleading consumers". Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (Press release). Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. 2 October 2020.
  31. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (2 October 2020). "Ticket reseller viagogo fined $7 million for misleading consumers". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  32. ^ a b Witton, Bridie (3 February 2021). "Dozens of complaints as ticket scalper Viagogo targets New Zealand events, agency warns". Stuff.
  33. ^ "RFU wins court order to help identify Twickenham ticket touts". The Guardian. 31 March 2011.
  34. ^ Jones, Rupert (21 November 2012). "Court ruling raises questions over future of ticket resale websites". The Guardian.
  35. ^ Izundu, Chi Chi (30 November 2016). "HMRC targets secondary ticket industry". BBC News.
  36. ^ Davies, Rob (21 March 2017). "Viagogo snubs MPs' inquiry into online ticket reselling". The Guardian.
  37. ^ Heard, Rupert (20 July 2017). "MPs threatened with arrest after protest at Viagogo office in London". The Guardian.
  38. ^ "Ticket abuse inquiry". parliament.uk.
  39. ^ "Secondary ticketing websites". Competition & Markets Authority. 29 November 2018.
  40. ^ "CMA to take enforcement action on secondary ticketing sites" (Press release). GOV.UK. 28 November 2017.
  41. ^ "ASA refers viagogo AG to National Trading Standards for misleading advertising". UK Advertising Standards Authority. 30 May 2018.
  42. ^ a b Johnston, Chris (30 May 2018). "Don't buy tickets from Viagogo, minister warns". BBC News.
  43. ^ "ASA secures changes to viagogo's website – misleading pricing information removed and costs now clearly displayed and transparent to consumers". Advertising Standards Authority. 4 September 2018.
  44. ^ Johnston, Chris (31 August 2018). "Viagogo taken to High Court by competition regulator". BBC News.
  45. ^ Davis, Rob (4 July 2019). "Regulator begins contempt of court action against Viagogo". The Guardian.
  46. ^ Davies, Rob (27 November 2018). "Viagogo to be forced to tell ticket buyers identity of touts". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
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