Australia: Ticket reseller sites inflate prices by 500% says Choice

Australian consumer organisation Choice has found dodgy pricing practices, false claims, illegal markups and a lack of consumer protection in the ticket scalping industry in Australia, with resale sites including ViaGogo and Ticketmaster Resale among the biggest offenders.

In a week that has two of the world’s biggest artists playing sold-out shows around the country, Justin Bieber and Adele, the Choice investigation found that when it came to the “secondary ticketing” industry , the inconsistent consumer laws across Australia were not working.

It found grandstand tickets to Bieber’s upcoming stadium show in Brisbane were being illegally sold for $1,150 – a 514% increase on their original $187.15 price. In Queensland, legislation permits mark-ups of more than 10% on original sale value for tickets to Stadium Queensland venues, with fines of $2,438 for sellers and $609.50 for buyers.

“A lot of consumers would be unaware of that [fine],” Choice’s head of media, Tom Godfrey, told Guardian Australia. “So it’s really important that we raise awareness around this.”

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