The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has therefore suspended preparations for court action in relation to those issues. However, it has not ruled out future action if the problems recur or if other issues are identified.
In July the CMA put the ticket resale site on notice that it was moving forward with contempt of court action following repeated warnings that viagogo had not done enough to comply with a court order the CMA secured against it. viagogo has now addressed the UK competition authority’s outstanding concerns about how it presents information.
Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive of the CMA, said:
The viagogo website UK customers now visit is worlds apart from the one they faced before the CMA took action. Key information needed to make informed decisions before buying a ticket is now much clearer including on where you’ll sit in a venue and whether you might be turned away at the door.
What is clearly not acceptable is the time it’s taken to get to this stage. Stronger consumer powers are required in the secondary ticketing sector and we will continue to work with the Government on the most effective way to achieve this. A key part will be the Government’s existing plans to give the CMA stronger consumer protection powers, so that it can rule on whether a company has broken the law and impose fines on those infringing companies.
We will keep up the pressure on viagogo to ensure that it continues to comply with UK consumer protection law.
In October 2019 a further independent review of viagogo’s compliance with the court order will be completed. If the results of this review, or any other fresh information, suggests the company is not meeting its obligations then the CMA will not hesitate to take further action – through the courts if necessary.
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