French authorities order Viagogo to end ‘deception’

France’s Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF)  has ordered Viagogo and its French subsidiary to cease the alleged “deceptive marketing practices” it says breach the country’s Consumer Code.

The DGCCRF, part of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence), claims that both Switzerland-based Viagogo AG and its Delaware-based subsidiary Viagogo Entertainment Inc. – which operates viagogo.fr – regularly breach articles L.121-2 and L.121-4 of the Consumer Code by:

• Drip pricing, or failing to disclose up front all fees chargeable on top of the listed ticket price
• Misleading consumers on the number of tickets available by feigning scarcity
• Reselling tickets above face value for publicly subsidised events

The DGCCRF has not disclosed any potential punishment or deadline for Viagogo to comply, but the authority is empowered to fine companies which break French competition law.

The resale of tickets without permission from the original seller is prohibited under French law, and Viagogo is believed to owe promoters’ association Prodiss some hundreds of thousands of Euros in fines.

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