viagogojumpoffacliff.com

26th Oct 2017

In the beginning...

I went to a Public Service Broadcasting concert with some friends. It was rad.

4th July 2018

Eight months later...

While reminiscing about how rad that concert was, I thought I'd check if they had any upcoming shows. They did! So I thought I'd check if they still had tickets available. They didn't! Dang.

But wait! What's this viagogo website? They seemed to be selling tickets. They stressed that they were going fast, and that I'd need to be quick to grab them, but it looked like they're priced at around £43 each. Excellent! Let's buy some!

With the clock on the payment page counting down, I scrambled to confirm with friends how many tickets to get, rushed to enter credit card details, and boom! I managed to bag three tickets with only seconds to spare.

But wait! Why does it say that I was just charged £502? Apparently in all the urgency I had misread the numbers. Woah. That's a lot of beans. But no problem, mistakes are easy to make - I'll just cancel the transaction and request a refund.

4th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

Unfortunately we are unable to offer you a refund or exchange for your tickets.

If you cannot use the tickets you purchased and there is still time before the event date, the best solution I can offer you is to re-list them. We will market your tickets on our platform to find a new buyer. We do not charge any fees for relisting tickets that you have originally purchased from us.

Occasionally there may be reasons why the tickets can't be re-listed but it's usually because the event date is too near to allow secure delivery or upload to the buyer. If you do decide to re-list with us and your tickets sell then let me know and I will contact your seller and get them to ship to your buyer directly.

Once again, I'm sorry it's not possible to cancel/alter your purchase and I hope you understand the reason why this is so.

Kind regards,
Rohini

4th July 2018

I followed your link to relist the tickets but I do not see an obvious option to do so. It just has an option to change my delivery address, along with some purchase details including a painful reminder of how much money I just lost.

This seems relevant to my request for a refund. Please do so immediately.

"Online, mail and telephone order customers have the right to cancel their order for a limited time even if the goods aren't faulty. Sales of this kind are known as 'distance selling'. You must offer a refund to customers if they've told you within 14 days of receiving their goods that they want to cancel. They have another 14 days to return the goods once they've told you. You must refund the customer within 14 days of receiving the goods back. They don't have to provide a reason."

4th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

We appreciate that our reply is not what you expected. However this order has already been reviewed, and as explained previously, cannot be refunded.

As mentioned before, the best solution I can offer you is to re-list them. We will market your tickets on our platform to find a new buyer. We do not charge any fees for relisting tickets that you have originally purchased from us. All purchases made with viagogo are final. We do not offer cancellations or refunds.

Kind regards,
Amit

4th July 2018

My original points still stand:

a) there is no option on the link that you provided to re-sell the tickets. Is there some way I can send you a screenshot of what I see so that you can tell me where to then navigate to?

b) it is against the law to refuse a refund within 14 days of purchase

4th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

Listing tickets for sale on viagogo is free and easy. Follow the steps below:
- Find the event you have tickets for and click on the "Sell" link located on the right hand side
- Follow the on-screen instructions to provide the required information; always provide as much information as you have available
- On the next page, set a price for your tickets. Market data are provided to help you price competitively. You can see the breakdown of fees and how much you will receive for the tickets should they sell
- If you are new to viagogo: register. If you are already a member: sign in
- Once you've signed in, select how you would like to be paid for your sale (either into your bank account or your PayPal account)
- Provide a guarantee method in the form of a credit or debit card that will be charged if your tickets sell and you don't send tickets, in which case viagogo would need to incur extra expenses to find replacement tickets for the buyer
- The final tab provides a summary of all the data entered. If you confirm them, the listed tickets will appear immediately on the site

Kind regards,
Amit

4th July 2018

Thank you Amit, I can see this process on the website. Can you please respond to the second point; that it is apparently illegal to refuse a refund within 14 days of purchase.

5th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

viagogo is an online marketplace and we guarantee every order. Buyers are guaranteed to get the tickets they paid for in time for the event. In the rare instance that a problem arises, viagogo will provide similar or better tickets, or in the worst case a full refund. Sellers are guaranteed to get paid for the tickets they sell, provided the correct tickets are sent to the buyer in time for the event and in line with viagogo's Terms and Conditions.

We do this by:
- Monitoring all orders to ensure that sellers deliver
- Delivering tickets using world-class courier services
- Only paying sellers once the buyer has attended the event

Our secure and guaranteed service is one of the many reasons we are partnered with many of the world's leading brands in sports and music. We hope you will choose viagogo.

Kind regards,
Pallavi

20th July 2018

I have just received this notice:

"The event organiser has decided that the original purchaser must be in attendance at this concert, and show their photo-ID and the credit card used to buy the tickets. Therefore, you are required to accompany your buyer(s) to the event, and must have an additional ticket for yourself"

I am not the original purchaser. I do not have the credit card that was used. I do not want these tickets. Please give them back to whoever the hell originally sold them and refund me.

20th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

We are sorry to hear you've experienced issues with viagogo. We have now passed on your complaint, and a member of our staff will contact you once we have reviewed your case. To ensure a swift resolution, please ensure that your contact details on your account are correct.

Kind regards,
Pallavi

25th July 2018

Hello Pallavi. I am still waiting to be contacted.

It was at this point that I logged a charge dispute with American Express

25th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

We understand that you are anxious to have your issue resolved, but please rest assured that we are working hard on it, and as soon as we have any news, we will contact you.

Kind regards,
Eoin

28th July 2018

I am still waiting to be contacted. I have questions and concerns regarding the delivery of the tickets, and the resale thereof. If I have already paid for the tickets, why would the seller have absolutely any incentive to meet me at the venue to transfer them? How could I possibly re-sell them now, if I can't guarantee that the tickets even exist?

Please, just refund me. I cannot afford to keep the tickets and it seems like I am not even now able to re-sell them. I also still do not understand why you cannot give me a refund when it is apparently against the law to refuse a refund if it was requested within 14 days.

29th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

Sellers on viagogo are only paid for their tickets after the buyer has successfully gained entry to the event. If there are any issues with the tickets (e.g. they send invalid tickets), they will not be paid. In addition, we register payment information for all sellers and are able to charge a fine if issues arise with their tickets. These security measures ensure that fraudulent sellers do not operate on our marketplace, and that our buyers are protected.

Our Ticket Guarantee is that buyers are guaranteed to receive valid tickets in time for the event. In the rare instance that a problem arises, viagogo will provide equivalent or better tickets, or a full refund.

If you have relisted ticket(s) that you have purchased from viagogo, it is possible to redirect the ticket(s) from your seller to your buyer, provided that the ticket(s) from your purchase have not been sent yet.

Please note that it is not possible to redirect ticket(s) if you sell different ticket(s) to the ones you purchased, for example, if you sell a different amount or if the ticket(s) are e-ticket(s).

Once your listing has sold, please contact viagogo and we will inform of the redirection options available to you.

Kind regards,
Debora

29th July 2018

So you actually still have my money? That should make it considerably less difficult to refund it then.

You repeatedly mention that you do not offer refunds, but you have yet to address my point that it is apparently illegal to refuse them. Can you please forward my question to your legal department so that I can get a clear and concise reason as to why you are apparently exempt from this law.

29th July 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

We appreciate that our reply is not what you expected. However this order has already been reviewed, and as explained previously, cannot be refunded. All purchases made with viagogo are final. We do not offer cancellations or refunds.

If you want to take this matter further, please go to viagogo website, click on privacy policy and then click on making a complaint.

Kind regards,
Debora

29th July 2018

I do not understand, it was mentioned earlier in this thread that someone from the complaints team would be contacting me. Also, the "making a complaint" section in the privacy policy seems to be specifically for complaints regarding the handling of personal data.

I sent them an email anyway. I never got a reply.

Question regarding the refund policy

The customer service team has directed me to forward my complaint to this email address. It occurs to me that this address seems to be specifically for handling requests relating to the handling of personal data, of which my complaint has nothing to do with, so I am not convinced that customer service know what they are talking about. But here we are.

I purchased some concert tickets which I then immediately wished to cancel. When I requested to do so, I was informed that all sales are final and refunds are not possible.

As per this website, my understanding is that it is illegal to refuse a request for a refund. Can you please provide me with a clear and concise understanding as to why you are apparently exempt from this law:
https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds

Case ID: 13461504
Order ID: 17348195

Regards,
Ian

30th July 2018

Dear Ian,
Thank you for contacting us.

This order has already been reviewed, and as explained previously, cannot be refunded.

As mentioned before, the best solution I can offer you is to re-list them. We will market your tickets on our platform to find a new buyer. We do not charge any fees for relisting tickets that you have originally purchased from us.

All purchases made with viagogo are final. We do not offer cancellations or refunds.

Kind regards,
Grace

9th August 2018

Grace,

Your link leads to the "My Purchases" page, where I am informed that the "purchase was relisted", but when I go to the "My Listings" page it says "no listings to display". Can you please find out why I am unable to re-list the tickets.

I would also like to lodge a complaint - as I mentioned earlier (and you neglected to address), the method suggested seems to be specifically for issues regarding the handling of personal data.

And finally, in addition to both of those requests, I would also (once again) like to request a response from your legal team as to why you are not subject to the law I posted earlier regarding refunds.

I am pessimistic that you will even acknowledge my latter two requests, so please do at least try to work out why I cannot re-list the tickets.

Regards,
Ian

9th August 2018

[radio silence]

17th August 2018

I am still awaiting instructions on how to re-list my tickets. They continue to say "purchase was relisted" but are not showing on the "My Listings" page.

17th August 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

We can confirm that your listing(s) with ID(s) 208378863 are now active and available for purchase on the website.

If your ticket(s) sell, please contact us immediately so that we can inform your buyer and your seller how to proceed in relation to the tickets.

Kind regards,
Debora

24th August 2018

I have just now checked the available tickets for this event, and my tickets do not appear to be showing up. I am listing mine for £160 each, but the only options are £157 and £224. Why are mine not showing up?

24th August 2018

Cher monsieur Byrne,

Nous vous contactons pour la commande 17348195 du Public Service Broadcasting le 1 Novembre 2018.

Une fois que vpus reçu la confirmation que vos billets on été relisté et actif restez rassuré que vos billets sont en vente sur le site et une fois vendu, vous serez notifié

Cordialement,
Judith

24th August 2018

What? Is this a joke? Why are you writing to me in French?

24th August 2018

Dear Ian,

We are contacting you regarding your order 17348195 for Public Service Broadcasting on 1 November 2018.

Sorry for the wrong language used but I just want to reassure you hat the tickets are on sale and they still active.

Kind regards,
Judith

24th August 2018

Then which price are they coming under, and why would it be different to what I have listed?

24th August 2018

Dear Ian,

We are contacting you regarding your order 17348195 for Public Service Broadcasting on 1 November 2018.

From Listing Information

Listing ID: 208378863
Event: Public Service Broadcasting
Date: 1 November 2018, 19:00
Section: Arena
Listing Note(s): Standing Only
Venue: Royal Albert Hall
Price per Ticket: £166.00
Seller Net Proceeds: £166.00

Kind regards,
Judith

24th August 2018

Judith,

I have taken two screenshots - one from the Listings page, and the other from viagogo's actual selling page for this event.




You can see that my listing is for £160 - this is different to BOTH your information of £166, AND what is actually listed on the event page (£206 and £301). What is going on? Why does nothing match up? How can I be certain that my listing is actually being displayed? And if it is, why is it for a completely different price to what I have requested?

24th August 2018

Dear Ian,

We are contacting you regarding your order 17348195 for Public Service Broadcasting on 1 November 2018.

We have checked your listing again and we can confirm that the tickets are on sale.

Kind regards,
Judith

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

As there were multiple changes made to the listing price on 12/7/18, this may be why there was some confusion caused.

The tickets were originally listed as £166, but are now listed as £160.00

Kind regards,
Sean

Then they closed my support case

9th September 2018

So I opened a new one

My listing does not appear to be active in the "my purchases" page. It says "purchase was relisted" but it does not show up in the "my listings" page.

This is the second time this has happened, which I brought to your attention earlier under WorkItemId 13461504, however that case appears to have now expired.

9th September 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

We are contacting you regarding your order 17348195 for Public Service Broadcasting on 1 November 2018.

We have checked your listing again and we can confirm that the tickets are on sale.

Kind regards,
Sue

10th September 2018

Sue,

My point is that the listing does NOT show up on the "Listings" page. It just says "No listings to display".

I am unable to alter the price, or anything.

10th September 2018

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting us.

I have reviewed the full case and as you say, you listing is not available for selling at the moment.

On the 20/07/18 you received an email regarding you listing 208378863 explaining that for this event you must have an additional ticket for yourself so you can walk in the buyers to the event and hand out the tickets to them. However this shouldn't be a problem because it would be your seller the one who walk in your final buyers.

After reviewing all the information, I have confirmed that you initiated a chargeback through your bank to request the refund of the money regarding the tickets you purchased so, until this case is resolved between your bank and our leg.al department, we can not allow you to sell the tickets in our platform since it's depends on the final resolution. If the money is refunded, you won't be able to sell tickets that you don't own anymore. If the refund is not allowed, we will be able to activate the listing again.

For any question you might have about this case, you can contact your bank straight away since they are the ones able to provide you with any information you need.

Kind regards and thank you for your understanding.

Natalia