The Full Court has dismissed Viagogo's appeal of a 2019 decision ordering it to pay a penalty. -AAP Image
Viagogo will have to pay a $7 million penalty for misleading consumers when it resold concert and sports tickets five years ago, after its appeal against a prior court decision was tossed.
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On Wednesday, the Full Court dismissed Viagogo's appeal of a 2019 decision which found it had falsely claimed it was the "official" reseller of certain tickets, that tickets were scarce and had hidden significant fees from ticket buyers until later in the booking process.
Between May and June 2017, Viagogo advertised headline ticket prices on its website without disclosing the total prices that people would pay.
The firm also failed to tell consumers that it was not a primary ticket retailer, but rather a reseller of tickets.
The case was brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, whose then-chairman Rod Sims said in October 2020 that Viagogo's business practices were "unacceptable".
"Viagogo misled thousands of consumers into buying tickets at inflated prices when they created a false sense of urgency by suggesting tickets were scarce and when they advertised tickets at a lower price by not including unavoidable fees," he said at the time.
