Ticket scalpers are back at it again says CHOICE who claim they’ve been campaigning to stop companies profiting from ticket scalping for years but inconsistent laws across Australia aren’t enough to stop it.
Back in 2017, CHOICE awarded ticket resale website Viagogo a ‘Shonky Award’ for using drip pricing, pressure sales tactics and selling invalid tickets.
When we checked on Monday, we found that tickets to Taylor Swift’s upcoming Sydney concert were being sold for prices as high as $2,678 per ticket on ticket reselling websites.
In a cost of living crisis, ticket reselling companies shouldn’t be allowed to get away with profiting from ticket scalpers taking advantage of people who’ve missed out on tickets.
Whether you’re buying tickets to the Australian Open or to see Taylor Swift, you should have clear, consistent consumer protections – no matter where you live.
Nationally consistent ticket scalping laws are long overdue.
To get this change over the line, state and territory governments need to hear from people who care about this issue now. Sign the petition to make your voice heard.
Back in 2017, CHOICE had received hundreds of reports from concertgoers who were ticked off after dealing with ticketing reselling company Viagogo.
Advertising seats to major events such as Adele and ZZ Top through Google’s AdWords network, the ticket reseller engaged in illegal drip pricing, which commonly creates confusion for consumers, failed to respond to complaints and had a “customer guarantee” that was about as reliable as a scalper in a back alley.
The Viagogo website hit customers with ‘last chance’ warnings regardless of the event.
With exclamation points and text blaring that tickets were about to sell out, other tickets displayed as “recently sold”.
Despite these pressure sales tactics most events remained available on Viagogo, and sometimes on the official seller sites, long after you’d secured your tickets.
In 2020, Viagogo was handed a $7 million fine in a Federal Court case brought on by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Why do we need nationally consistent laws to stop ticket scalping?
State and territory ticket scalping laws are inconsistent depending on where you live in Australia.
In NSW, South Australia and Western Australia, ticket scalping laws limit ticket reselling to 110% above the original price.
But in Victoria, the government needs to designate the particular event a ‘major event’ for protections to come into place.
In Queensland, anti-scalping laws only apply to certain venues.
Tasmania and the Northern Territory have no ticket scalping laws at all.
Consistent protections will help to close the gaps that ticket scalpers are exploiting and give people certainty about what they can expect when it comes to purchasing resold tickets.
Why will signing this petition help?
CHOICE has been calling for nationally consistent, fair rules when it comes to ticket scalping for years, but we’re still seeing ticket scalpers trying to take advantage of people.
Now this issue is back in the spotlight, it’s our chance to show state and territory ministers that thousands of people still want fair and consistent anti-scalping laws.
To do that, we need to show that thousands of people care about this issue.
CHOICE’s petition can be accessed at this PS News link.
