Viagogo Tickets Didn’t Work or Cost Triple the Price? Here’s How to Get a Refund

You Googled the concert, clicked the first result, and paid $680 for two tickets that turned out to have a face value of $129 each, plus a “booking fee” that only appeared at the last second, plus a “handling fee” on top of that. Then the tickets arrived in someone else’s name, or didn’t arrive at all, or the venue scanned them and said “already used”. You spent the night outside the stadium.

Viagogo has been in the Federal Court over this. The rulings are on your side.

Your rights

• Viagogo has already been found to have misled Australian consumers. In 2019 the Federal Court found Viagogo breached the ACL by claiming to be an “official” site, using false scarcity (“only 5 tickets left”), and hiding a 27.6% booking fee until late in the checkout. In 2020 it was fined $7 million. Those findings are public record and you can cite them.
• Consumer guarantees (ss 54, 60–62 ACL). A ticket that doesn’t grant entry isn’t fit for purpose. A service that was represented as delivering valid tickets and didn’t has failed the guarantee. You’re entitled to a full refund plus consequential loss (travel, accommodation).
• Misleading or deceptive conduct (s 18) and false representations (s 29). Drip pricing (fees revealed late), false urgency, and implying official status are all breaches.
• State ticket resale laws. New South Wales (Fair Trading Act 1987, Part 4A) caps resale at face value plus 10% and requires resellers to display the face value and seat details. Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia have similar rules for declared major events; Western Australia’s Ticket Scalping Act 2021 applies to all events. A ticket sold above the cap is an illegal sale, which strengthens your refund claim.
• Chargeback. “Services not provided” and “not as described” are standard chargeback grounds. Viagogo relies on card payments; this is your fastest lever.

What to do right now

1. Screenshot the listing and your order. The price shown first, the fees added later, any “official” or “guaranteed” language, the seller details, and the ticket file. If the tickets were refused at the gate, get the venue to confirm in writing or photograph the scanner screen.
2. Lodge with Viagogo’s guarantee process immediately. They advertise a refund guarantee for invalid tickets. Use it, in writing, and keep the reference. If they ask for “proof” the ticket didn’t work, send the venue confirmation.
3. Chargeback the same day. Call your bank, say the merchant didn’t deliver a valid product, and provide your screenshots. Don’t wait to see what Viagogo does; the 120-day clock is running.
4. Send a Letter of Demand. A formal letter citing the Federal Court findings, the ACL provisions, your state’s resale cap, the consequential loss, and a 14-day deadline before fair trading and tribunal. Viagogo has an Australian legal presence and responds to formal demands; the chat support doesn’t.
5. Report to your state fair trading body and the ACCC. Both have enforcement history here and want the data.

If the tickets are for a future event and you’ve just realised what you paid

You can still act. Check the face value on the official ticketing site. If you paid more than the legal cap in your state (New South Wales: face value plus 10%), write to Viagogo demanding a refund of the excess and the hidden fees on the ground that the sale breached the state resale law and the ACL. If they refuse, chargeback the fee component and claim the rest via tribunal. And buy replacement tickets from the official seller so you don’t miss the event; the cost is recoverable if the resale tickets turn out invalid.

Tickets in someone else’s name: many venues now require ID to match the ticket. If the ticket is non-transferable, it’s not fit for purpose on its face. Say so in writing before the event so the record shows you raised it.

How to check what you actually paid

Resale sites are designed so you never see the whole picture at once. Reconstruct it. From your order confirmation, note the per-ticket price, then every fee line: booking, service, handling, delivery, “VAT” or “tax”. Add them. Then find the official face value: the promoter’s site or the primary ticketing agent (Ticketek, Ticketmaster, Moshtix) will show it, and the ticket itself often has it printed. The difference is what you paid over face, and in New South Wales anything above 10% over face is above the legal cap. Write that figure down; it goes in the letter. Two more checks: whether the listing said “official” or “guaranteed” anywhere (screenshot it), and whether the seller was Viagogo itself or a “marketplace seller” (Viagogo is still liable for its platform’s representations either way). If the tickets never arrived, the tracking or delivery status from your account is the evidence; if they arrived in another name, photograph the ticket showing the name.

Who to complain to

Your state fair trading body (NSW Fair Trading enforces the resale cap directly). The ACCC for misleading conduct. Your bank for the chargeback and AFCA if refused. Your state civil tribunal for the refund and consequential loss. The event promoter and official ticketing agent may also help identify whether the ticket was genuine.

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