Summer is coming and with it, the music festivals, the most awaited moment for ticket reselling websites that multiply their original price to do business and that can end in fraud. The typical “I am selling a bic pen and a ticket gift”, despite the fact that it is still used in some second-hand pages, is already something of the past after the birth of specialized platforms that the OCU has in its sights.
The Organization of Consumers and Users has issued a warning to avoid buying tickets through resale even on apparently legal websites such as Viagogo to avoid surprises, since they accumulate all kinds of complaints for the sale of false tickets and abusive sales commissions.
According to a statement from the organization, both the Spanish website of viagogo and other Europeans have been cases of fraud that result in an apparently purchased ticket but whose payment process “ends abruptly without entry”, sale of fake tickets that are already they had previously sold to another person, or prices that multiply by three or four the original.
The OCU also warns that, even in the case of a valid ticket, in the event of the cancellation of a concert or modification of the performance date, the right to return is made for the face price of the ticket and never for the extra cost generated by buying it. through resale.
If you still decide to purchase a ticket through a resale website, the OCU recommends checking at least that the chosen website includes the padlock logo next to the url and, once inside, that a tax identification number is included ( or a CIF) next to the company name.
The website should also include a list of conditions with the terms of the contract and payment should be made by card, not by transfer, as it makes any subsequent claim difficult. In addition, it is convenient to check through the festival’s official website that the dates and appearance of the ticket coincide with those announced.
Unlike what happens with street resale, where the surcharge cannot exceed 20% of the price marked for sale to the public, there is currently no regulation that stipulates the maximum price for which a ticket can be sold. online form. For this reason, the OCU asks the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for a specific regulation for the resale of tickets online that tenders authorized establishments, obliges to verify the validity of the tickets, identify the buyer, limit the maximum resale price (also to 20%) and avoid the usual diversion of thousands of tickets from official websites to the resale market.
In addition, and with the focus on Viagogo, the organization asks the European authorities to investigate the malpractices, since being a British platform based in Switzerland, it is not possible to appeal judicially if it is not in the courts of the Swiss country. .
