Viagogo withdraws fake Lorde VIP tickets from sale, dismisses criticism as ‘fear tactic’

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Ticket reseller agency Viagogo removed Lorde VIP tickets sold for $ 1,300 from their website after the promoter said they were fake and decided to allay fears of buying from the controversial site while offering a 700% mark-up on certain tickets.

Promoter Brent Eccles warned fans against buying tickets from Viagogo after fake tickets to Lordes Havelock North’s show appeared online last week, claiming the Swiss company was just a scam .

But Viagogo said it was a fear-mongering tactic on the part of the event organizer to control ticket sales.

Maarten Holl / Stuff

Tickets for the Lordes Solar Power tour appeared on Viagogo shortly after they went on sale.

It is perfectly normal for someone to resell their ticket through Viagogo if they wish, the company said in a statement.

READ MORE: * Lorde’s Solar Power Tour: Havelock North Takes Tickets in One Minute * Electric Avenue Ticket Sales Record, But Warning Issued As Scalpers Target New Zealand Events * Viagogo at the source of sharp increase in consumer complaints to the Trade Commission * Buying a resold ticket is legal, but the truth is in the fine print

We encourage event planners to contact us directly using our event planners portal if they have any questions or concerns regarding their event. In this case, we have noted the correction regarding the VIP section and have adjusted the list accordingly.

At the time of writing, Viagogo was not showing any tickets available for the Havelock North concert, which sold out within 1 minute of the general release tickets going on sale.

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While Viagogo removed the fake VIP tickets for the Havelock North show, it was selling New Plymouth tickets at a 700% markup.

But that was to advertise bronze general admission tickets for his show in New Plymouth for a starting price of $ 739. At the official seller, Ticketek, these tickets cost $ 92.40.

Viagogo did not respond to a question about who pocketed the nearly 700% difference, but said the prices were set by the sellers.

Unreasonably priced tickets attract the most media attention, but rarely, if ever, sell out.

Viagogo promotes itself as a resale site through which consumers can resell legitimate tickets originally purchased from the official seller.

But he has come under fire for selling fraudulent duplicate tickets, with the Commerce Commission saying in June 2019 that a sharp increase in ticket scalping complaints was due to the unprecedented number of complaints about Swiss company Viagogo.

The Commission has tried unsuccessfully to obtain an injunction to prevent Viagogo from marketing, and is now taking legal action against it, claiming the company has made a number of false claims, including on price, scarcity and validity guarantee of tickets sold on its site.

The case has yet to be heard by the courts.

Vishnu R Nair / Unsplash

Viagogo said that in 2019, up to 1% of tickets sold on its site had issues.

In the statement, Viagogo said its guarantee guarantees buyers will receive valid tickets from the site and claimed that no more than 1% of tickets sold globally in 2019 had any issues.

There was no incentive, the statement said, for sellers to list the fraudulent tickets, as Viagogo only sent payment when the buyer had successfully accessed the event, and in the extremely rare case of a problem, Viagogo would find comparable replacements or offer a full refund.

Speaking to Stuff in February 2019, Jessica Wilson, head of research at Consumer NZ, said that while it is not illegal to resell a ticket or use a resold one, buyers should check out the small ones. characters before trying to do so.

“Your best bet, we advise people to go to a legitimate ticket agent for the event and check ticket availability first, and check the terms and conditions,” she said.

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