I scored 3 tickets that Id rate not too bad for $800 for all three after all taxes and fees. Who do you think should fill the drummers slot? Want to sit down front? Then, on August 16th, the CMA published a new report recommending even tighter controls on ticket resale, including a strict limit on how many tickets an individual can resell. "Viagogo is a criminal company who have STOLE $600 From us. ", "Purchased tickets to the 2022 Kentucky Derby. This proposed divestment was also hardwired with a crucial caveat: whoever bought StubHub International would have to run it as an uncapped resale site and in direct competition with viagogo. do have an issue with tickets that were purchased on Viagogo, you will receive Viagogo has not responded to requests for a comment. Here's why your summer trip is so expensive and what you can do about it. The information provided by Viagogo for GES is incorrect but the Guardian has established an link between the two companies. Sellers on viagogo are only paid for their tickets after the buyer has successfully gained entry to the event. Ticket resale website Viagogo that has come under fire for a lack of transparency. A rise in Viagogo complaints from unhappy customers complaining about the difficulty of reaching the customer support and the site failing to uphold their own ticket guarantee has been prominent. Aside from the terrible timing, notably it was described as the worst deal ever by Forbes, the merger also attracted attention from British regulators who foresaw, correctly, that it would bestow viagogo a monopoly position in the UK. All of it adds up to higher prices. Ticket reselling works on the basis of having a middle-man involved in your transaction. You do end up with slightly higher prices, but that can be said of any reseller, but you can get the tickets you want for pretty much anything. Interestingly, this is what the CMAs merger team appeared to conclude in a report published in February 2021. Viagogo offered a gift card to buy more tickets for another event as compensation. Plus, although Once you manage to pass this loading page, you will see some more scare tactics and somewhat of an unorganized page. This subreddit is devoted to the band Slipknot. For more information, please see our Since their creation in 2006, Viagogo has expanded into 160 countries and established several lucrative partnerships with ticket vendors for live music, events and sports. With that said, if something does go wrong then you have to once again rely on their problematic guarantee. (Supported files: jpg, png, mpeg, ogg, mp4 & webm). These settings can be found usually in the top right or bottom left of the site. Most touts aim to turn a profit at high-demand events. you 100% money back if anything happens to your ticket. We do everything in our power to prevent tickets from being bought for resale, and are very clear fans should avoid firms like Viagogo. Amazon ceased operating as a ticket agency in March. Nicht Viagogo bentzen. Just the way of life. The TM pricing is about what Id expect for a residency at a new igh tech $1.2 billion venue, and are way less than Adeles residency.GA floor 287.88P1 501.35P2 400.21P3 267.88P4 140.13I think those are well within current prices. Buying from a secure ticket vendor is probably one of the most crucial factors whenever you buy a ticket to your favourite event. At Lonely Planet, we're always planning a trip somewhere. Now they can't bring them back fast enough it takes 100 working hours to ready the biggest jets for service after being parked away. This has led to major damage to their online reputation and good name. They are known for grossly overcharging by jacking up prices on "limited" tickets. Or, to put it another way, viagogos single biggest supplier was committing a mass-scale multimillion pound fraud and selling tickets they didnt possess. Where we are provided with proof from a relevant authority of an abuse of these rules we will investigate and, if confirmed, action will be taken.. Home - Ticket Site Reviews - Is Viagogo Reliable? We do not have knowledge that any of our employees has a relationship with this entity and we will investigate any potential breach of our code of conduct, it added. The ticket is genuine, but it's also been sold to a bunch of other people, and only one person can get into the venue. there are higher prices, the more outrageous sellers are often unable to sell What does it mean for travelers? The fresh allegations focus on more than 1m worth of tickets for gigs across Europe, some of which were advertised by a company with connections to Viagogo. As a resale aggregator, prices may be higher than face value. Stupid or what? Digital Minister Margot James told BBC Radio 5 live that if fans had to use a secondary site to buy tickets, "don't choose Viagogo - they are the worst". I\u2019ve just been ripped off by Viagogo and paid four times the price for it. However, this guarantee should not always be taken at face Still, there are plenty of cases where the opposite is true and one-way tickets are incredibly expensive. Clint Henderson: You are not alone: prices have spiked this summer for many destinations, and are likely to remain elevated for the duration of the season. The scandal of fake sellers committing fraud on this platform demands serious and immediate investigation. 1st time at F1 - denied entry for fraudulent tickets. have read the fine print. In 2017 the ASA told it to make its exorbitant fees and delivery charges clear at the start of the transaction. Also, buyers only pay once they have been to the event and had no issues. $800 for 2 tix. However, there has been a great deal of criticism directed towards Viagogo as of late. If there are any issues with the tickets (e.g. See Tickets Reviews is See Tickets legit? So Viagogo remind us, at every possible opportunity, just how scarce the tickets that youre looking at are. I wanted to attend the BBCs The Biggest Weekend festival and found three tickets on secondary ticketing site Viagogo, [where people who have bought tickets can sell them on]. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. Why use viagogo? You can often score great deals that way, too. Walker said the test purchases were indisputable evidence of speculative ticketing, which is fraud. So the overall value of the tickets are governed by the marketplace that they are being sold on. The company has been cocking a snook at regulators since 2015 when the CMA ordered it to display the face value of tickets it was reselling. If the date of your event is too near, it may not allow secure delivery When Your Event is Canceled or Postponed A quick look through Viagogo (a secondary seller) reveals some eye-watering prices. Being able to use their service easily is equally, if not more, important. value. Fast forward to July 2021, however, and yet more viagogo phantoms appeared. Because this is a resell marketplace, you can also find tickets to shows and games that have been sold out at the venue. However, if our regulator is genuinely unable to act on the evidence weve provided, then surely they should reach out to another agency that will or simply refer these serious allegations to the Police. We assess the integrity of every site we recommend before adding them to your search. Whatever the episode, youre definitely going to learn something that you might not find anywhere else. My airfare and hotel costs was $6200.00. I asked for a refund but it was refused. Walker said it was essential that the Switzerland-based company now remove GES SL listings and said a criminal investigation may be warranted. -Skip the queue - buy your tickets in just two taps. In addition, you dont have to register beforehand in order to book your tickets. The CMA, in particular, have been provided with extensive evidence of large-scale fraud, theyve witnessed test purchases where fraud was openly committed, as well as what appear to be overt breaches of the law. Continue with Recommended Cookies. -Explore the world's largest selection of events. same price as the original ticket sold by the venue. Inflation of all kinds is also at play here. A case for why the hop-on, hop-off bus is worth it. Please note that we may share your email with the company to verify your order. Such deals have rising concerns regarding the role of the secondary market and the involvement of official ticket outlets channelling tickets to the resale market. Its my favorite time to travel anyway, as its usually cheaper and less crowded. This is definitely something to consider before using Viagogo. available to the event on their site, From where people bought tickets We asked our friend Clint Henderson at The Points Guy (a sister company to Lonely Planet) to give us his take on where post-pandemic airfares stand. they send invalid tickets), they will not be paid.In addition, we register payment information for all sellers and are able to charge a fine if issues arise with their tickets. I'm guessing these teams were the round file because I received no response from anyone. on the site. Should I buy legit seats as backup? I remember back in the day standing in line for tix at the venue before online ticket sales started. The seats are automatically confirmed when purchased, We were refused entry to a venue because the tickets were invalid. The employee did not return requests for comment via LinkedIn or via StubHub, which was bought by Viagogo for $4bn in February last year. We also believe that other fake sellers continue to operate across the platform. I also predict airfares will eventually return to about where they were before the pandemic. ", "I wouldn\u2019t even give this company if thats what you can call them 1 STAR. We went to the event and was told there was no tickets for us. All rights reserved. Complete Review. * One or more of these files was not uploaded due to an invalid file type. Unfortunately, the good stuff seems to stops here for Viagogo. Following the You & Yours broadcast, this registration changed to a bogus address in Madrid and then, days later, Ticketing Expert LTD shifted into a new identity entirely. Americans making summer vacation plans are about to find airfare costs are near or even above pre-pandemic levels, according to the nation's major airlines. Something GES SL appeared to be doing systematically . It didnt. You should also pay attention to the ticket restrictions such as Limited or restricted view which indicates that the view for that specific ticket will be obstructed. Viagogo is an online ticket marketplace for buying and selling tickets to live events. This is fair, considering that you wouldnt be Our Concert which finally happened last year was cancelled twice and despite numerous emails phone calls to the company for refund they refused to refund our tickets and stated the concert was postponed. "So not as many people are flying as there simply aren't so many seats. Anyway, i put two on via gogo and they sold last night. Out of desperation, I found the tickets I wanted on Viagogo for a little bit more than what's advertised on Ticketmaster, and the e-tickets got sent to my email successfully. However, Viagogo has not currently said it will make changes the CMA considers necessary, and the CMA has notified it that it will face court action unless it commits to addressing concerns. You've paid Viagogo so it's on them to try to help, but of course they aren't actually supplying tickets so it can get a bit messy. The CMA should immediately intervene and investigate these allegations and take necessary legal action.. StubHub also enjoyed partnerships with football clubs including Everton and Spurs. An easy to use platform with a great user-friendly experience, upfront prices which enables you to make a smart and safe purchase, should be a top priority. Events and Ticketing Expert LTD were all bona fida sellers with a good track recordincluding successfully fulfilling orders. The spokesperson then added, we take allegations of the misuse of our platform very seriously and take action to remove listings if necessary.. You can always check all the available options on Seatpick for the desired event and find more options and other recommended sites. Viagogo tickets reviews have had some negative comments left about Viagogo does not have the greatest record with regards to Viagogo tout a 100 % money back guarantee should anything go wrong with your ticket, as well as professional customer support. Compare Seats and Options. there is an issue. No problem though\u2026.I already had the proof.". Viagogo now claimed it was called the Ryan & Jacob Corporation, and based on 6th Avenue in New York. The world's largest selection of tickets is now at your fingertips - find the perfect tickets today with the viagogo app. The fresh allegations focus on more than 1m worth of tickets for gigs across Europe, at least some of which were advertised by a Madrid-based company with connections to Viagogo. Those are resellers. Tickets for U2s Sphere shows in Las Vegas are expensive. About this app. 100% of your money back. So right now, youve got both people who are prioritizing travel in their lives and people who couldnt travel during the pandemic a combination that is dramatically increasing demand. reliable customer support, and ticket guarantee. Hes also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music. You can also use Viagogos predetermined Top Events which are based Going to cost to see things there! Just make sure that you You can read reviews about our recommended ticket marketplaces here: Best ticket sites. The reason viagogo is more expensive is becasue they charge a percentage fee, so if i was selling and set my ticket price at face value, i would actually be losing money as viagogo take a cut. Scott Schenkel, the interim CEO at eBay, said . Sellers can see that their tickets are the last few left for the event, and they could charge much more since it is the only option at that point for a buyer. Here's where our staff is dreaming of going in 2023. Domestic flights remain high, too. Strengthen your review by uploading photos & videos. The problem with places like Viagogo is that say your tickets were originally purchased from GigsandTours, you aren't their customer so they can't help you with any issues. So, if you need any help, reach out with caution, we did have some customers report of a better experience in recent months and we hope that this trend continues. Given what had occurred with GES SL, it all appeared highly dubious. This means that people can offer up their tickets if they end up not being able to go or have an extra ticket. You can reach all of these options by clicking on the green search button, without entering any key terms and you will reach their Advanced Search page where you can type in multiple terms to search by. Visit Website Write Your review Tell us how Help Me LP: I have an 8-hour layover at London's Heathrow airport. Why are Viagogo tickets so expensive? One of the most important things is to be able to safely rely on your ticket provider when you buy your ticket, many ticket resale sites offer some sort of a ticket guarantee and customer support but those guarantees dont always come through. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. (modern). This skullduggery raises plenty of questions. Which means they held onto my money from Feb 12th til June 9th.\r\nI was told today that I would not receive any further compensation for my costs.\r\nI am a disabled Vet on a fixed income and this is how Viaggo treats people. This is not to say that you will be charged in your own currency, as usual, they charge the original listing price that was set by the seller, but you will know what that translates to in your currency. At the same time, their recent controversies and complaints from customers have been on the rise, their sale tactics have been highly criticized and you might want to check more options when you consider buying your tickets through viagogo at this point in time. Although they are still the biggest, they have arguably lost the title of best. Looking over the accounts of viagogo and StubHub, they estimated that overall sales value of the UKs uncapped ticket resale market in 2019 was 350m. The show in question is Metallica with Slipknot, in October, at one of their Australian stadium dates. Their initial response to my inquiry was that the tickets are often released shortly before the event. My only option is to upload a ticket pdf which i won't have. It's not that I walked across the street to Churchill Downs. All rights reserved. Reg Walker, a ticketing expert and security consultant atthe Iridium Consultancy, carried out test purchases, placing orders for tickets on Viagogo. Peter Hunter and David Smith were jailed in 2020 after being found guilty of four counts of fraud including one related to speculative selling, following a 2016 Guardian investigation. Man, I wish @GSCinemas would give us a breakdown of why the #txt tickets are so expensive.. Problem is these are mobile tickets and whilst there is an option to transfer the tickets to someone else on the ticketmaster app, viagogo won't give me the buyers details. All our prices are live and transparent giving you the best ticket prices. What Viagogo are doing here is employing a rather well-known sales practice, known as the scarcity tactic. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Whats even worse than the high booking fees is Viagogos hidden fees. Viagogo should be the subject of a full criminal investigation.. Just below, you can find some more examples in the event page and checkout page of the same scare tactics used: One thing that is quite frustrating is the long loading time in order to enter the final purchase page, which creates a feeling that there is a long queue for the tickets you chose, recently Viagogo improved the speed of their overall loaders. I would never have bought them at that price. In other words, we wont hesitate to take action; except we will hesitate to take action because we dont have any powers. legitimate ticket in time for the event. . Once you get to the ticket options, Viagogo inundates you with how many tickets are left, their prices and seating locations. their tickets. A few days later, and, taking things full circle, the Ryan & Jacob Corporation has now apparently relocated to Alcala 150, Madrid, 28008 pretty much the same address as GES SL. In April the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) threatened it with legal action for. If there are any issues with the tickets (e.g. While they do offer the largest ticket supply in the world, Viagogo has been constantly in the news in recent years in regards to their selling practices. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions: see http://gu.com/letters-terms, Three 18 tickets for the BBCs The Biggest Weekend festival ran up a final bill of 1,772, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. If customer responses are anything to go by, there is definitely some major improvements that are needed for Viagogo to reach a reasonable quality of customer support. My best advice to consumers is to use any miles or points they have been hoarding during the pandemic. able to get tickets to your events without sites like Viagogo. Viagogo pride themselves on their quality customer service and reliability as an online ticket vendor for the most popular events across the globe. something that you must take into account if for the unfortunate case that Why are Viagogo tickets so expensive? That said, we wont see the return of bargain-basement prices we saw during COVID-19 anytime soon. Aren't Kpop fans taken advantage of enough in Malaysia??? So, plan ahead and get your tickets early. There arent enough planes or pilots. The ticket price is then paid to the organiser. [STOP PRESS: on Wednesday 8th September, it was announced that Digital Fuel Capital, a US investment fund led by an ex-colleague of Eric Baker, and with interests in coffee, rugs and sportswear, would be buying StubHub International. If the less profitable parts of StubHub can be jettisoned, then so much the better especially if viagogos dominance isretained in the UK and other territories. Is it doable to leave the airport and go sightseeing? At one Barcelona event, Ryan & Jacob are listing 6 x 21 tickets for 32,528 each. People tend to have a few concerns about the safety of using ticket vendors. Viagogo does put a lot of emphasis on using interactive seating charts, and different colours to distinguish different ticket types and filtering options, which will help you sift through their many options. A flight to Las Vegas or Kansas City doesnt normally cost $700800, but we are routinely seeing prices like that these days. From Champions League Finals to sold out Lady Gaga concerts, Viagogo is usually very well stocked. With that said, Viagogo need to take a cut as well and they can be quite greedy. This review hopes to offer an impartial spotlight on the largest online ticket marketplace, so that you can stay informed with the best vendors available. I purchased tickets for the rugby autumn international Ireland v New Zealand from Viagogo. Viagogo which was founded in London in 2006 by the former co-founder of StubHub Eric Baker, and is considered today as the largest ticket marketplace in the world, spreading to over 160 countries. A much-debated ban on domestic flights within France will finally be rolled out in 2023. Next step\u2026legal action. they send invalid tickets), they will not be paid. Scare tactics are a common use by many sites, such as Booking.com and the like, but you should take this into account whenever you do use Viagogo. You being looted by another Eurpean based company. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Like, why did viagogo allow their biggest global supplier to change identity four times in the space of a week? The company, which was founded in London in 2006, has a network of more than 60 global websites with customers in 160 countries. The original face value was 18 each but I found Id been charged 1,772 for the three [after fees were added to the sellers new asking price]. The CMA is also concerned about the countdown clocks that hasten customers into a transaction before theyve digested the small print. For one, there's a lack of planes. This time, they were called Sofia Wagner, a Munich-based seller listing thousands of extortionately expensive tickets to UK festivals and arena shows; H.E Events, a Dundee-based business listing thousands of extortionately expensive tickets to live events in the UK and globally; and Ticketing Expert LTD, a business registered to a bogus UK address that replicated the questionable grassroots model pioneered by GES SL. money back if things go south. It has been said that whenever you pick an event you plan to attend you will immediately be met with scare tactics through the entire purchase process. Higher fuel and labor costs are also incentivizing airlines to try to raise prices where they can. Shocking. U2 has announced 12 shows at the new MSG Sphere at The Venetian starting September 29. For example, a warning sign with text warning you of how many tickets are left, or how many people are viewing them. In theory, this scenario should suit Eric Baker famously. He can\u2019t buy his way out for ever!!! However, theres a catch here. In other words, they are almost exclusively targeting grassroots shows that havent sold out and where ticket touting is unlikely to be a problem. A previous comment said it well$1.2 billion event venue. A source close to Viagogo said it had no other connections to Global Experience Solutions. And anyway, who are Ryan & Jacob ? In most cases, you will get the tickets a week Is what's stated in this answer reliable? Since the site was established, Viagogo has managed to attract major artists, teams and performers, and contracted with them through official deals. If you want to know if using Viagogo is reliable, then read ahead. Or else, you may end up like one of their unhappy reviewers. In this series, Lonely Planets team of writers and editors answers your travel problems and provide tips and hacks to help you plan a hassle-free trip. Nobody deserves to profit from concerts other than the musicians, crew, promoters, bar staff, and all who work on the events, and a ticket should only ever be worth the price printed on it., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. In order to reach their main UK customer service: Contact them through a designated Viagogo email for existing orders: You can also send them a message through your account if you have an issue with your order. 2- I bought ticket for 76 and have received ticket of 50 value. Having a well-stocked marketplace is a huge part of what makes a ticket vendor great but its not everything. And, the tickets are not the But this year, an annual flight I take to see my family in the summer seems to cost more than ever. Worse still, their customer support has gained a reputation for being relatively absent when customers reach out for help. The company is actively setting up hundreds of event pages and allowing a single seller, connected to Viagogo, to advertise identikit numbers of tickets that we do not believe they possess. Sharon Hodgson, the Labour MP who co-chairs a cross-party group investigating ticket abuse, said: It shouldnt be for campaign groups, artists, venues or promoters to monitor a secondary ticketing website to ensure that it is acting legally. Being able to rely on your ticket vendor when something goes wrong is a really important part of what separates the good from the bad. in the language of your choice. Two test purchases confirmed what we suspected. Just like GES SL, these activities appeared to constitute industrial-scale fraud, and also implicated viagogo in multiple breaches of consumer protection laws and the terms of their court order. Last month, so-called "secondary ticketing" platform viagogo removed an estimated 1m+ of fake and fraudulent tickets from its UK website mostly for large outdoor festivals such as Reading,. Despite a great marketplace, Viagogo tack on an incredibly high booking fee or in other words, their cut for the service they provide to their tickets. Together, they frequently accounted for up to 80% of the sites listings at major UK festivals, while Ticketing Expert LTD was touting tickets at literally thousands of grassroots events in the UK and Europe. Unlike other vendors out there, Viagogo are a much less accountable should anything go wrong with a transaction on their platform. All of these search features make Viagogo a arrow_forward. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. If this is the true state of affairs, then the whole sorry saga raises a bunch of uncomfortable questions, not only for viagogo who, under Section 92 of the UKs Consumer Rights Act, are duty bound to report criminal activity (such as fraud) to the police but also for investors, regulators and enforcement agencies. In all transactions there is an onus on the seller to agree to certain terms and conditions, which includes the right to sell a ticket. Pop-ups, notifications in giant red letters and queueing systems to keep you waiting have all been implemented to convince you to buy from them. Clint Henderson: You are not alone: prices have spiked this summer for many destinations, and are likely to remain elevated for the duration of the season. The ticket price is then paid t. The most important thing at the end of the day is to receive a A CMA spokesperson said the watchdog was concerned about these reports of speculative selling.. All rights reserved, Is Viagogo Reliable? From city breaks to tropical beach vacations and family adventures, this book is organized by month with recommendations for trips that range from weekend escapes to one- and two-week getaways. I haven even read that a Baron is associated with this company he really must be having a great laugh at us easy prey. There seem to be a few questions of whether or not Viagogo, if Viagogo is selling fake tickets, and if Viagogo offers help to their customers.