New rules to clean up secondary ticket sites

Household money

Updated on 06 March 2015 | 0 Comments

Seatwave, viagogo and others agree to more transparency.

Four of the largest secondary ticket platforms in the UK have agreed to give more information to buyers about the tickets on their websites.

The move from GET ME IN!, Seatwave, StubHub and viagogo follows action from the Competition and Markets Authority. The sites have agreed to tell all buyers:

  • Whether or not multiple seats that are listed together are located together
  • If there are any additional charges not included in the advertised ticket price
  • Whether there are any entry restrictions and/or view restrictions that may apply to the ticket
  • The face value of the ticket, which may be different from the price the ticket is available for through the secondary ticket platform
  • A contact email address for buyers in case something goes wrong

Take a look at this 60-second summary to check what information you should have when buying secondary tickets.

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Only the first step

The CMA is in the process of contacting other major ticket re-sale platforms, brokers and businesses to outline its expectations about their conduct and their obligations under consumer law. It's also working with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to further enhance transparency for ticket buyers.

The authority's message will be reinforced with the slogan ‘Re-sold tickets: what to look out for’ on a series of images which lets people know their rights when buying from a secondary ticket platform.

Businesses that do not give the information required to buyers may be subject to action under consumer protection law, including possible financial penalties from Trading Standard Services to deter other re-sellers from doing the same.

It's still important to be vigilant, though. Before you buy your tickets you should carefully check:

  • Whether there are any age-related restrictions on entry and/or view restrictions
  • Whether any additional charges apply

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