Consumers to gain from secondary ticketing agreement

UK theatre-goers using secondary ticket websites will know more about what they are buying following an agreement by four of the largest secondary ticket platforms – GET ME IN!, Seatwave, StubHub and viagogo – to provide better information about the tickets listed on their sites. Following pressure from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for enforcing competition and consumer law, the companies have agreed to include the face value of a ticket alongside their own price. They will also give information on any age-related restrictions on entry or restrictions on view that may apply to the ticket; whether multiple seats that are listed together are located together; and whether there are any additional charges not included in the listed ticket price. They will also provide a contact email address for buyers to use if something goes wrong.

Nisha Arora, CMA Senior Director, said: “A well-functioning secondary ticket market benefits fans by helping them to get tickets for events they want to see and by helping them when they can no longer make use of their tickets. As a result of the CMA’s action, and the constructive response of the major secondary ticket platforms, buyers will now have more of the key information they need before buying.” The CMA will also be writing to other major ticket re-sale platforms and brokers to explain its expectations about their conduct and remind them of their obligations under consumer legislation.

Shahriar Coupal, Director of the Committees of Advertising Policy and Practice (Advertising Standards Authority), said: “Hiding or omitting information about charges that consumers have to pay is not only misleading it’s simply unfair. In tandem with the CMA, we’ve been working closely with the secondary ticket sector to help make sure it’s clear and upfront about costs so that consumers get a fair deal and businesses play by the same rules.”

The Consumer Rights Bill is currently at an advanced stage of its passage through Parliament and will introduce a new duty on secondary ticket platforms to report criminal activity, as well as financial penalties for those that fail to provide information to buyers to help them know what they are getting. Local Authority Trading Standards Services in Great Britain and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland will be responsible for enforcing this and will have the power to impose financial penalties of up to £5,000 on those who fail to comply.