Secondary ticketing deadline
Published 17 January 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-about-the-secondary-ticketing-websites-deadline/secondary-ticketing-deadline
As of midnight on 17 January, viagogo, StubHub and Ticketmaster are all required to have overhauled their processes to improve information about tickets listed for resale.
This follows CMA enforcement action.
The changes being made
The changes will ensure that from midnight on the 17 January, any new ticket listed for resale on these websites will include information about:
- whether there is a risk that the ticket buyer will be turned away at the door
- which seat in the venue they will get
- the identity of the seller if it is a business – so that people can benefit from enhanced legal rights when buying from businesses
viagogo is also required to make changes to its processes to:
- prevent customers being misled by messages about the availability and popularity of tickets
- make it easier for customers to get their money back under its guarantee when things go wrong – avoiding the risk of consumers’ claims being rejected unfairly
- ensure certain customers who made claims under viagogo’s guarantee but didn’t get their money back will receive refunds if they were entitled to them
Next steps
Once the deadline passes, there will be a comprehensive review of the changes each website has made to its processes. This is to ensure they have all fully complied with the formal commitments given to the CMA by StubHub and Ticketmaster, and the court order imposed on viagogo. This will be followed by annual compliance reviews.
Once complete, the results of these reviews will be reported to the CMA.
The CMA will update its case page with information on whether the sites are compliant with their commitments once it has reviewed the results.
If we find that the required changes have not taken place, the CMA will take further action. This could include pursuing action through the courts.
Information for businesses
The CMA has also published the following information for businesses:
- an open letter to event organisers on how to make sure information about tickets for their events is disclosed on secondary ticketing websites and the steps that those who use restrictions on resale can take to reduce the risk of the CMA prioritising enforcement action against them
- an open letter to secondary ticketing websites about how to comply with consumer law.
More information on the CMA’s investigation can be found on the secondary ticketing case page.