Viagogo settles with Swiss watchdog

Secondary ticketing platform Viagogo has reached a settlement with Switzerland’s largest consumer protection organisation following a six-year legal battle.

The resale firm, whose European headquarters are in Geneva, has allocated 100,000 Swiss francs (€105,000) as compensation for the 807 individuals who lodged complaints against it with the Fédération Romande des Consommateurs (FRC) prior to 5 February 2024.

Viagogo has also agreed to make changes to its Swiss website, indicating its status as a resale marketplace in Switzerland’s three national languages and English, so that consumers are not led to believe they are buying from an official seller.

It must also provide greater transparency over ticket prices and seating information, feature a reduced number of “pop-up” windows to limit pressure on prospective buyers, and clearly identify professional resellers or traders.

In return for these changes, the FRC has withdrawn its lawsuit. However, should Viagogo fail to meet any of the above commitments, the FRC will be free to make another legal complaint.

“In our view, this agreement was the best option faced to a procedure that was getting bogged down and would certainly have taken many more years before a final decision was reached,” says Jean Tschopp, head of the FRC’s legal department. “Our association preferred concrete improvements for internet users in the form of changes brought to Viagogo’s Swiss website instead of waiting several more years for a final decision.

“What’s more, pursuing the legal route wouldn’t have guaranteed a favourable outcome for aggrieved consumers. Even if the courts had found against Viagogo, the victims wouldn’t necessarily have received compensation. In this case, the 807 people concerned will be.”

“We hope and expect the new Digital Services Act, which requires online marketplaces to improve transparency and desist from pressure buying tactics, will be robustly enforced”

The FRC first lodged a criminal complaint against Viagogo with the Geneva public prosecutor’s office in 2017 after receiving more than 100 complaints against the site, relating to lack of transparency over pricing, pressure-selling tactics, and leading consumers to believe they were buying from an official ticket seller.

“While great news, the settlement – made after six years of legal work – highlights the difficulty of hauling uncapped ticket resale sites through the courts,” says Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) director Sam Shemtob. “For consumers in the EU, we hope and expect the new Digital Services Act, which requires online marketplaces to improve transparency and desist from pressure buying tactics, will be robustly enforced.”

A Viagogo spokesperson says: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Fédération Romande des Consommateurs. As part of this, we have made changes to our Swiss platform to enhance the fan experience for our Swiss customers. Viagogo is a safe, secure and regulated marketplace that is fully compliant in the markets in which we operate.”

The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which was implemented on Saturday (17 February), brought major implications for the online secondary ticketing market, requiring platforms to identify and verify professional sellers, and prohibiting them from using manipulative sales tactics.

The legislation has also introduced annual reports on content take-downs that should help reveal the scale of illegal activity – data on which enforcement agencies and search engines will be compelled to take action.

There have been over 40 legal cases against ticket traders and resale platforms in the EU since 2016.

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