Ticketing news Archives

FEAT Launches Guide on How to Find and Remove Touted Tickets

Posted on 19 January, 202219 January, 2022

Launched today at ESNS, FEAT is proud to present its latest guide for FEAT members and European promoters on how to deal with suspected touted tickets.

From set-up to post-show, “FEAT Guide: How to Find and Remove Scalped Tickets” provides simple step-by-step advice on how promoters can prevent tickets ending up in the wrong hands, while providing clear support to fans. Hoping to demystify the process of tackling touting, the guide outlines how to develop and implement an anti-tout policy, guide fans during on-sale, and spot signs of touting. It also advises on the best route to cancelling tickets in a fan-friendly way, while taking into account the relevant legal considerations. Added extras include template terms and conditions, as well as a template letter to send to any venues involved.

The live music industry suffered drastically as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with UK live revenues collapsing by up to 90% in 2020, according to UK Music. As concerts resume, reducing touting will help ensure fans regain their trust in ticketing and can afford to see their favourite acts.

Nicole Jacobsen, Managing Director and Co-Owner of tickets.de, said: “I’m really proud to have worked with FEAT on the ‘FEAT Guide: How To Find and Remove Scalped Tickets’. At tickets.de we’ve been working to stop scalping for over ten years, and the guide is just the latest in what is an on-going and dedicated campaign.”

FEAT Director Sam Shemtob added: “With the live business looking to get back on the front foot in 2022, the timing is perfect for promoters to take steps proven to reduce touting. We hope this guide will be beneficial to all those who work in the sector.”

FEAT would like to thank all who contributed to this project, especially Nicole Jacobsen from tickets.de.

The guide is available on request only — and will shortly be launched in French, Spanish and German. Those interested should contact FEAT at support@feat-alliance.org.

Italian court upholds €3.7m viagogo fine for ticket touting, rules it is not a “passive hosting provider”

Posted on 23 April, 20213 February, 2022

An Italian court has rejected an appeal from viagogo against a €3,700,000 fine for hosting tickets sold in contravention of Italian law.

The judgment, which was handed down by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio earlier this month, upholds a 2020 ruling brought by Italian Communications Regulatory Authority AGCOM sanctioning viagogo for listing tickets to 37 events at above face value between March and July 2019.

Italy’s 2017 Budget law states that tickets for entertainment events must only be sold by authorised ticket providers in Italy. However, consumers are permitted to sell unwanted tickets for a price equal to or less than the ticket’s face value.

The judges rejected viagogo’s argument that it was acting as a “passive hosting provider” by merely connecting resellers with potential buyers, which would exempt the resale platform from liability under Italian law implementing the E-Commerce Directive. Instead, viagogo was found to provide a range of services and promote and advertise tickets in a way that could not be considered to be carried out without any awareness or control on its part.

The Court pointed out that “The service provided by the viagogo… clearly does not have the characteristics of passive hosting, given that it clearly does not consist in the mere “storage of information”, but rather in the articulated activities of optimisation and advertising promotion of the titles on sale…. Nor has the appellant in any way substantiated the claim that such complex activities would be carried out by the platform in a completely automatic manner and without any awareness and/or possibility of control on its part”.

In a final dig, the court added that even if viagogo had qualified as a “passive hosting provider,” it would still not have benefited from the liability exemption afforded by the law as it did not act quickly to remove or disable access to the listings once notified by the competent authorities.

This important ruling is another step towards greater accountability of secondary ticketing platforms, which routinely profit from illegal ticket sales. It builds on consistent rulings against liability exemption as a passive hosting provider – from both the Italian Supreme Court (n. 7708 March 19, 2019. Mediaset vs Yahoo!) and European Court (C-324/09, L’Orèal v. eBay and C-236/08, Google v. Louis Vuitton). It comes as European legislators look at tightening the rules around platform liability, with particular regard to marketplaces — including the likes of viagogo.

FEAT Director Sam Shemtob said: “Uncapped secondary marketplaces such as viagogo have long been shielding under the liability exemption offered by EU law by claiming to have little to no knowledge of the activity taking place on their sites. It is time that they’re held responsible for the illegal activity they promote and profit from, both in Italy and across Europe”.

Austrian Supreme Court Rules 42 of Viagogo’s T&C Clauses Illegal

Posted on 19 February, 20213 February, 2022

In the first ruling of its scale into Viagogo’s T&Cs, Austria’s Supreme Court (OGH) has ruled 42 separate clauses of the company’s general terms to ticket buyers and sellers illegal.

Viagogo will now have to amend all 42 clauses for Austrian consumers accessing the website via www.viagogo.com and www.viagogo.at.

Notable clauses that were deemed unlawful include:

No refund if lost: A clause stipulating that all sales are final so the buyer has no right to a refund or exchange if the ticket is lost, or the terms of the ticket sale are only partially fulfilled, e.g., if there is a date or time change.
Wide discretion on replacement tickets: A clause stipulating that if the seller does not deliver the tickets, Viagogo may, at its own discretion, decide whether to offer replacement tickets or refund the buyer.
Seat changes: A clause allowing the seller to change the seat to which the listing refers for a comparable seat without the buyer’s consent.
Refund for non-delivery: If tickets are not delivered to the buyer and returned to Viagogo more than three times, the buyer forgoes their right to a refund, regardless of whether they were at fault or not.
Liability disclaimers: A number of clauses purporting to exclude or limit Viagogo’s liability, such as for its own website and services.
Applicable law: A clause stating that Swiss law applies to contracts entered into on the Austrian site was illegal as consumers are protected under Austrian consumer law and have the right to sue the reseller before an Austrian court.

This is the second notable ruling in Austria in the past year. Last year, the OGH ordered Viagogo to better inform its buyers about the identity of ticket sellers and the type of ticket being sold by a seller before a purchase is made.

FEAT Campaign Lead Katie O’Leary added: “For a platform that claims to serve fans, the level of protection that Viagogo offers its users, as brought to light in this ruling, is shocking. We welcome the OGH’s decision and hope that it encourages other jurisdictions to ensure that their consumers are equally protected.”

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TICKETS DO NOT EXIST, PURCHASERS TOLD

Posted on 6 June, 20193 February, 2022

The companies contacted fans less than a week before the match to inform them that their ticket purchases would not be fulfilled by the sellers, who had sold them speculatively – including fans who had already travelled to Madrid. Whilst StubHub has promised fans a full refund, including shipping and service fees, and Viagogo has promised either alternative tickets or €500 compensation, many customers will still be left out of pocket – not least because of the inflated cost of travel and accommodation in Madrid.

Viagogo and StubHub have informed hundreds of buyers of secondary tickets for the Champions League final in Madrid that their tickets – some of which cost upwards of £10,000 – were sold speculatively and do not in fact exist.

StubHub has also offered €1,500 in compensation for each ticket purchased, but it is understood that if fans accept this offer, they will not be able to sue. This year’s Champions League final has seen extraordinarily high levels of ticket touting, according to the Times. Over 8,000 tickets have appeared on secondary ticketing sites with prices far higher than face value, due to extremely high demand.

The scandal has gained coverage from media outlets across Europe, with fans expressing their outrage at such blatant disregard for consumer protection.

Whilst the European Union has recently taken an unprecedented step forward in tackling ticket profiteering – by outlawing the use of bots to bulk-buy tickets as part of the New Deal for Consumers – this latest news demonstrates the continued need for tougher legislation, stronger enforcement and greater consumer awareness in the fight against touts.

UK GOVERNMENT REPORT WARNS CONSUMERS NOT TO BUY FROM VIAGOGO

Posted on 22 March, 201917 July, 2019

In a new report, the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has warned consumers to avoid the secondary ticketing platform Viagogo until it ‘fully complies with consumer law.’

Back in November 2018, the company received a court order demanding that they provide full information about tickets listed on their website, including listing seat numbers. Since then, they have refused to give evidence before the DCMS committee, and are currently facing further legal action from the Competition and Markets Authority.

The report’s key findings include:

Ticket resale for profit drains money out of the music industry – and loses tax revenue for the government
Enforcement of secondary ticketing legislation has seen some successes: StubHub, for example, is now in compliance with CMA and ASA rulings. However, Viagogo is still not compliant
The issue of bot attacks on ticketing sites is rife: Ticketmaster has blocked 20 billion bot attacks across its global platforms in 2017, but current regulations may not address the actual means by which touts harvest tickets. Touts also use multiple computers which are much harder to detect
It is time for companies such as Google to take more responsibility in enforcing AdWords regulations, so that secondary sites are not able to breach these policies when selling fraudulent tickets. The report urges the government to define the responsibilities of media companies such as Google, and enforce sanctions

Michael Dugher, CEO of UK Music, commented:

“They have really listened to the live music industry, which contributes around £1bn a year to the UK economy, and their report is a real wake-up call for everyone who wants to safeguard live music.”

Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, commented:
“

“If a restaurant poses a risk to public health, we expect inspectors to close it immediately on grounds of consumer protection.

“Unfortunately, such powers of enforcement are seemingly absent when it comes to online ticket touting. So despite the huge consumer harm caused by Viagogo’s practices, and despite the best efforts of the Competition & Markets Authority and other regulators, the site has continued to operate in clear disregard of the law.

“This needs to change. Viagogo is already facing legal proceedings for contempt of court. While that case is pending, there is surely a compelling argument for the website to be temporarily blocked and for platforms like Google to cut off its advertising.”

Click here to read the report in full.

Germany’s BDKV secures judgement against Ticketbande

Posted on 6 February, 20196 February, 2019

The regional court of Hanover has ordered German secondary ticketing site Ticketbande to restrict the resale of tickets on its site.

Under these restrictions, there are two scenarios in which Ticketbande may not list tickets. Firstly, if a seller marks up a ticket to 25% above face value when the terms of the original ticket contain a specific clause agreed with the courts that forbid this.

Secondly, when tickets have a box for the buyer’s name. This means that they are named tickets and non-transferable (providing there is a way for that named person to get a refund if they cannot attend a show).

The court order against Ticketbande was sought by the German promoter’s association BDKV. Dr Johannes Ulbricht of law firm Michow & Ulbricht, who represents BDKV, said:

“This verdict finally eliminates a crucial grey area in ticket sales [and brings event organisers] a great step further in the fight against the commercial secondary market ticketing trade”.

FEAT’s director, Sam Shemtob, commented:

“This illustrates the traction that a variety of national movements, such as BDKV’s [anti-touting campaign] are getting across Europe, and shows that local judiciaries are not falling for spurious arguments in support of industrial level touting”.

For further information, see the CMU report.

Swiss Consumer Organisation Launches ‘Ticket Check’ Campaign

Posted on 30 October, 201811 January, 2019

The consumer organisation Fédération romande des consommateurs (FRC, The Consumer Federation for French-speaking Switzerland) has launched a campaign to fight ticket touting and raise awareness of official ticket sellers among consumers.

Entitled ‘Ticket Check’ the programme aims to help consumers identify official ticket sale and resale points. A logo has been created to help identify the official platforms.

The FRC claims to receive daily complaints from people who feel they were cheated when they bought tickets online. The campaign recommends that consumers should not use the first ticket-selling website that they see at the top of search results when using Google or Bing. In most cases these websites are unauthorised platforms that are not official event partners.

Supporters of the campaign include UEFA, SMPA, Opus One, SecuTix among others.

More information can be found via the FRC website.