There has been another update in the CMA secondary ticketing investigation following on from the recent court action against Viagogo.
As of yesterday, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) demanded that a number of the big players in the secondary ticketing market must have improved their business behaviour. This ongoing investigation and review is hugely important given the growth in touts and overcharging. This is among practices that have arguably made pricing unclear, with the consumer not being protected by the market players.
The changes that the CMA are pushing through should help to defend the consumers against unfair practices. It should ensure consumer rights are not infringed and should enforce the ticketing companies to act more responsibly.
Update in the CMA secondary ticketing investigation
The update in the CMA secondary ticketing investigation involved a deadline of 17th January 2019 (yesterday) for changes to be made.
In time for the deadline, StubHub, Ticketmaster and Viagogo must have in place improved information available for tickets being resold. The CMA are set to be conducting further comprehensive reviews to ensure the businesses have complied.
As well as the resellers making the changes, event organisers are also said to be involved. The overall aim is to ensure that the consumer is protected in the secondary ticketing market.
It can be a brutal market with touts taking advantage of fans desperate to attend events they’ve missed out on. Price hikes for resold tickets can be astronomical, and many artists have criticised online resellers for allowing this to happen. Some have even taken legal action to stop certain sellers selling tickets to their events.
The issue has been made worse by difficulties in obtaining refunds when things haven’t gone right. The lack of information when it comes to resold tickets has also been heavily criticised.
What’s next for the CMA secondary ticketing investigation?
Hopefully, the outcomes in the CMA secondary ticketing investigation will continue to be positive. Once we see a level playing field where the consumer isn’t exploited and is fully protected by the market players, genuine resales can be supported, and touts can be stamped out.
We’ll continue to follow the developments of this investigation, and any further court action against Viagogo.