The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently looking *extremely* closely at so-called “legal” ticket resale outlets (read: they’re essentially regulated scalping forums) after a complaint was lodge by consumer group Choice. This was done in the wake of widespread customer dissatisfaction that tickets to the upcoming Midnight Oil tour were appearing on sites like Ticketmaster Resale for massively inflated prices mere moments after they sold out on Ticketmaster proper.
But while the ACCC looks into the complaint, companies like Ticketmaster Resale, or its Swiss-based competitor Viagogo, remain free to continue operating.
Unfortunately for punters, this also means scammers have been free to pray on people desperate to get into hot-ticket events, like the currently on-going season of ‘The Book of Mormon‘ musical at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre.
The ABC today reports that more than a handful of eager punters have had their hopes dashed after arriving at the theatre only to learn the ticket they bought on Viagogo is invalid.
Ticketing staff working at the Princess Theatre reportedly told one 18-year-old lad, who bought what turned out to be an invalid ticket to the show off Viagago for $257 – well above the real ticket’s original asking price of $96 – that people arriving with bad, dud, or otherwise non-acceptable tickets was a “weekly occurrence.“
Scammers using the service often list tickets at a wildly inflated price, even going so far as to sell multiple copies of the same ticket; quite possible given most ticket agencies send tickets as .pdf email attachments nowadays. Further still, other scammers cancelled their purchases once they initially received the emailed ticket, receiving refunds from Ticketmaster before subsequently listing the fraudulent eTicket on resale sites.
Viagogo is on the brink of being booted out of (or at the very least cracked down on hard) England, with PM Theresa May asserting the British Government will investigate claims the company flagrantly thumbs its nose at consumer laws.
How far the ACCC investigation goes towards doing the same will be extremely interesting to see, and any ruling carries pretty hefty ramifications for the entertainment industry – particularly as far as Ticketmaster is concerned.
For what it’s worth, legal and proper tickets are still readily available for ‘The Book of Mormon‘ from as early as late April, all at the regularly listed prices. The show also runs a cheap ticket lottery system at every single show where you can throw your hat into the ring and potentially score $40 seats.
Go get yourself a proper seat over at the show’s official website.
Source: ABC News.
Photo: Book of Mormon AU.
