Bought Ed Sheeran tickets from Viagogo - what to do?

dj1471

unholyangel wrote: »

In other words, under the terms of the contract OP had with the party they made the payment to (viagogo) they guarantee the tickets you purchased or a refund. Sounds like OP has a claim against them to me.

I'm not sure about that one, the T&Cs only suggest issuing a refund if the tickets aren't received, which isn't the case here. They DO say that the seller won't get paid if the buyer is unable to gain entry, but they don't promise to refund the buyer in these circumstances.

Viagogo are acting in the same manner as eBay here, they're simply connecting buyers and sellers - they don't handle the tickets. As payment isn't made directly to the supplier of the item being purchased S75 will not apply.

The first step is to request a refund from Viagogo; they may be forthcoming, especially given the media interest.

Ian011

See MSE news item...

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/reclaim/2017/07/ed-sheerans-promoter-helps-fans-chase-refunds-after-hundreds-resold-invalid-tickets

unholyangel

dj1471 wrote: »

I'm not sure about that one, the T&Cs only suggest issuing a refund if the tickets aren't received, which isn't the case here. They DO say that the seller won't get paid if the buyer is unable to gain entry, but they don't promise to refund the buyer in these circumstances.

Viagogo are acting in the same manner as eBay here, they're simply connecting buyers and sellers - they don't handle the tickets. As payment isn't made directly to the supplier of the item being purchased S75 will not apply.

The first step is to request a refund from Viagogo; they may be forthcoming, especially given the media interest.

The tickets listed for sale were for entry to a ed sheeran gig. I dont think they can claim they fulfilled the contract because the contract wasn't just for tickets, it was for valid tickets. The same way if you sell a tv with built in freeview, theres a reasonable assumption by the law that not only will the tv have built in freeview, but that it will work.

They're not acting in the same way as ebay as ebay doesn't collect payment from the buyer & hold it until the goods have been delivered (in fact, viagogo doesn't pay their seller until after the event takes place and unless theres been a major change, ebay doesn't collect payments at all). Viagogo doesn't just offer a marketplace in which to sell on, it offers an escrow service - something which by its very nature is supposed to ensure things like this doesn't happen.

Btw, payments made via third parties like paypal are not always exempt from S75 - it depends on their role/the exact relationship (and whether the necessary chain is present & unbroken).

But the good thing about S75 claims is that it doesn't cost you anything, nor does asking the financial ombudsman to review it. Which gives the OP two possible (albiet not guaranteed) ways to get their money back without any financial risk to them. So they have nothing to lose by making that claim (providing their tickets are the affected bunch ofc).