Stuart WoodViagogo has featured negatively in the news once again, after a music fan who paid £2,959 for tickets for her terminally ill father failed to arrive.
Hannah Maturin, 30, bought two tickets to the Last Night of the Proms at Royal Albert Hall, which were sold at face value for £87. The experience was intended as part of a ‘bucket list’ for her father.
Days before the event, Maturin had still not received any tickets. When she contacted Viagogo, they told her the tickets may simply be late, but then admitted the seller had not provided any.
Maturin demanded a refund, which Viagogo refused. She was instead offered replacement tickets with a face value of £87, but did not take her father because she did not want to risk him being upset if they turned secondary tickets away on the door.
Maturin commented: “When I told him how much I had paid, he said I had been silly but having these experiences when you only have one year left with your dad is priceless.
“I’m so angry at Viagogo. It is worse than a street tout. I feel like I have been scammed.”
The news comes after several incidents with Viagogo in recent weeks. On 31 August, they were sued by the Competition & Markets Authority for breaking consumer protection law.
On 5 September, they also failed to attend a parliament hearing which was set to scrutinise the secondary ticketing sector.