Commerce Commission Win over Viagogo
In a recent judgment, the High Court provided useful guidance on misleading and deceptive conduct, and unfair contract terms under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA). The decision followed a six-year legal battle between Viagogo and the Commerce Commission.
The Commission commenced proceedings against Viagogo in 2018 after receiving thousands of complaints by consumers who had purchased event tickets from Viagogo, only to be refused entry at the events because their tickets were not authentic.
The High Court found that Viagogo had misled consumers in breach of the FTA by:
• Failing to adequately disclose its status as a resale platform
• Guaranteeing customers’ tickets to events, when in practice it often refunded invalid tickets after a customer had already missed the event
• Creating a false sense of urgency for prospective purchasers seeking tickets
• Disclosing additional ticket fees at a late stage of the purchase process, and
• Stating it was an official or authorised source of tickets when it was not.
A clause in Viagogo’s terms and conditions requiring customer disputes to be resolved in Switzerland was also found to be unfair and unenforceable.
Viagogo was ordered to correct the misleading information on its website and update its terms and conditions.
This judgment emphasises the importance of using honest and fair trading practices, and ensuring your terms and conditions comply with the FTA.
Viagogo has appealed the judgment.
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