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Consumer advocates have accused Google of being "complicit" in the controversial tactics used by some ticket resellers to allegedly dupe Australians into paying exorbitant fees to see their favourite sports teams and singers.
Key points:
- Choice says Google needs to protect consumers against some ticket resellers
- Viagogo is being taken to court by the ACCC for alleged false and misleading conduct
- Google insists all ads go through a thorough approval process before being posted
Consumer group Choice has called on the internet giant to stop accepting advertising money from ticket reselling companies.
Earlier this week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was taking ticket reseller Viagogo to court for allegedly engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.
The Swiss-based company, which also operates in the US, Europe and New Zealand, describes itself as an online ticket marketplace that allows consumers to buy and sell tickets to sporting events, concerts, and plays.
However, the ACCC said it had received 473 complaints about Viagogo from Australian consumers this year.
"We allege that Viagogo failed to disclose significant and unavoidable fees upfront in the ticket price, including a 27.6 per cent booking fee for most events and a handling fee," ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
In May this year, Viagogo was selling tickets to the hit musical The Book of Mormon for $177.45 — a 31 per cent increase on the official ticket price.
That included a $37.50 booking fee and a $4.95 handling fee. The company is also accused of selling invalid or fake tickets.
Last year, a Melbourne teenager purchased a ticket to The Book of Mormon for $257 on the Viagogo site, only to be turned away at the Princess Theatre because it was invalid.
Google urged to stop accepting cash from ticket resellers
The ACCC said Viagogo was promoting itself as an authorised ticket seller by using the word "official" in search engine advertisements.
Choice surveyed 438 Australians who have made complaints about ticket resellers including Viagogo, Stubhub and TicketmasterResale.
They found that 79 per cent of complainants mistakenly believed they were purchasing tickets from the official seller.
"Once you land on a resale site, you don't really stand a chance with resellers using tricky tactics such as disguising buttons to look similar to authorised sellers or making 'official' claims," Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said.
"Search engines such as Google are complicit in the confusion because they allow resale websites to place paid links above official sites in search results."
On August 29 — a day after the ACCC launched proceedings against Viagogo — the top Google search results for "Ed Sheeran tickets" and "Ashes tickets" were ads for Viagogo.
Both Viagogo links included the word "official".
Last week, Western Australia police warned fans to stick to authorised sellers after a Perth woman mistakenly spent more than $1,200 on fake tickets for a Guns N' Roses concert.
"Clearly Google has a lot of work to do," Mr Godfrey said.
"As you go through these sites, claims that these resellers are the official site, claims that they offer consumer protection, lead consumers to believe that everything is okay, and it just isn't."
Google defends its advertising approval process
Earlier this year, a UK parliamentary committee investigating ticketing abuse said Google may be violating its own advertising policies by accepting certain links from Viagogo.
Committee member Nigel Huddleston MP said Viagogo advertised tickets to the hit musical Hamilton on Google for up to $9,700.
However, the tickets never existed.
The internet giant's advertising policy states that Google does not "allow ads or destinations that intend to deceive users by excluding relevant information or giving misleading information about products, services, or businesses".
Google also states that it bars advertisers which promise "products, services, or promotional offers that aren't easily found from the landing page".
A Google spokeswoman told the ABC that the internet giant did not comment on individual advertisers.
"To make sure that ads are safe and appropriate for everyone, all ads go through an approval process using the AdWords advertising policies," Google said in a statement.
"Users can lodge complaints if they believe an advertiser breaches these policies and all complaints are investigated. Ads that violate our terms and conditions we will be removed."
Choice said the internet has given ticket resellers an air of legitimacy, but consumers still need to be vigilant.
"If you saw these sellers in front of the venue there's no way you'd approach them and buy a ticket," Mr Godfrey said.
"What we're seeing is widespread fraud through this industry. We'd like to see a crackdown on misleading online advertising.
"The promoters, the venues and the ticketing companies need to be more transparent about the number of seats and tickets available.
"That way consumers can legitimately on-sell tickets without fear of being ripped off."
Topics: internet-technology, arts-and-entertainment, consumer-protection, australia
First posted