Credit Card Chargeback Advice

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Credit Card Chargeback Advice - Viagogo

firefuze

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#214627 21-May-2017 18:35

Desperately in need of some sound advice to assist with a credit card chargeback that I have raised against Viagogo event ticket agency.

I started a dispute with ANZ whom after nearly two months of constant, and I mean constant.. amount of follow-up, finally credited me back the full amount of an event ticket purchased from Viagogo.

The event has now passed and I never used the ticket supplied. Viagogo have now replied to ANZ rejecting the chargeback and I have only a few days to reply otherwise ANZ will reverse the chargeback.

Why am I disputing? Well for several reasons. Unfortunately in my haste to purchase tickets Google directed me to Viagogo, only after purchase I found the tickets were double the price of their actual face value. And only then did I find out that Viagogo is one of the largest ticket scalpers you can find.

Reasons:

- The buy journey on the website was in $ but I was charged in € resulting in a significant unexpected price increase

- Viagogo does not openly or clearly state they are not an offical event promotor or ticket venue

- The ticket supplied is not in my name

- The price on the ticket is half what I actually paid for it

- The ticket was not available instantly indicating to me that the ticket was never actually available at time of purchase and only purchased by Viagogo after I paid for it on the Viagogo website

- Because the ticket was not in my name there is no security that the same ticket hadn't been sold several times

I don't know what sort of 'nail in the coffin' information or details I can reply back to ANZ with to ensure I retain my chargeback, any advice?

I tired to look on the Ticketmaster website (the real offical reseller) but there didn't seem to be any clear policy wording I could use to throw back at them to show they have breached their (Ticketmaster's) policies by reselling tickets under different names etc.

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510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1785564 21-May-2017 18:41

Was planning on disputing the transaction further against Viagogo's 'ticket guarantee'

"All of our tickets are 100% guaranteed

What does that mean? It means that you can buy with confidence. We guarantee that you’ll get valid tickets in time for the event.

Over 10 million fans have gone to their favourite events!"

I believe my ticket was not valid due to the different name printed on the ticket

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#1785566 21-May-2017 18:46

Buyers remorse is not a reason for a credit card chargeback. As harsh as it sounds you have no legal right and I would not expect ANZ to accept your chargeback claim.

sbiddle

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#1785569 21-May-2017 18:51

As dodgy as you think Viagogo are (their website is about as scammy as they come) they are a massive global player and are an official ticket reseller for a large number of events. Reselling tickets is not illegal and in many of their markets they do clearly list the face value of the tickets they are selling.

Why did you not attend the event?

firefuze

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1785573 21-May-2017 18:55

While there is some buyers remorse, and have learnt a lesson.

With the other reasons aside I still can't see how displaying a price in one currency and charging in another is valid?

And still question the validity of selling tickets in a different name as valid, especially when you aren't told this upfront.

Surely these are valid grounds? They were sufficient for ANZ to issue the chargeback initially and Viagogo's reply never addressed the above at all.

sbiddle

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#1785575 21-May-2017 18:59

firefuze:

While there is some buyers remorse, and have learnt a lesson.

With the other reasons aside I still can't see how displaying a price in one currency and charging in another is valid?

And still question the validity of selling tickets in a different name as valid, especially when you aren't told this upfront.

Surely these are valid grounds? They were sufficient for ANZ to issue the chargeback initially and Viagogo's reply never addressed the above at all.

Why did you not attend? You had a ticket that was valid (you haven't provided any evidence to suggest otherwise) so I don't see any valid reason for a chargeback if you chose not to attend.

What do you mean by advertising in a different currency? Viagogo make it very clear what currency a ticket is shown in.

firefuze

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1785576 21-May-2017 19:01

sbiddle:

As dodgy as you think Viagogo are (their website is about as scammy as they come) they are a massive global player and are an official ticket reseller for a large number of events. Reselling tickets is not illegal and in many of their markets they do clearly list the face value of the tickets they are selling.

Why did you not attend the event?

I did attend but since purchased a legitimate ticket from Ticketmaster directly. I was deeply concerned that the ticket I had been supplied by Viagogo was invalid, sold multiple times or the original purchaser would attend with the same ticket causing myself to be rejected at the gate.

I wasn't prepared to take any of those risks

firefuze

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1785580 21-May-2017 19:04

sbiddle:

firefuze:

While there is some buyers remorse, and have learnt a lesson.

With the other reasons aside I still can't see how displaying a price in one currency and charging in another is valid?

And still question the validity of selling tickets in a different name as valid, especially when you aren't told this upfront.

Surely these are valid grounds? They were sufficient for ANZ to issue the chargeback initially and Viagogo's reply never addressed the above at all.

What do you mean by advertising in a different currency? Viagogo make it very clear what currency a ticket is shown in.

During the buy process online all amounts were shown as $NZD but upon checking my credit card I was charged the same amount but in Euro's resulting an extra ~$100NZD after currency conversion. i.e $220NZD at checkout became €220 on my credit card resulting in $350NZD

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sbiddle

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#1785583 21-May-2017 19:12

firefuze:

During the buy process online all amounts were shown as $NZD but upon checking my credit card I was charged the same amount but in Euro's resulting an extra ~$100NZD after currency conversion. i.e $220NZD at checkout became €220 on my credit card resulting in $350NZD

Was that because of the booking fees though? $130 in booking fees/extras sounds about right for a $220 ticket.

Note I'm not defending them - they operate along the lines of scammer but are a legitimate business. It's more than there is nothing I've seen you post that would be deemed as legitimate reasons for a charge back.

Oblivian

7296 posts

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#1785612 21-May-2017 20:18

The only slightest grounds you would have for thinking it wasn't valid with someone elses name on it would come down to the promoters requirements/clauses

So would need to dig out the original clauses from the promotional information/Terms of entry.

The ticketing agents are just that. Print paper and manage seats vs punters = match on behalf. At the gate the promoter has the right to refuse entry if the purchaser isn't present (see Bruno mars) and why the ALL warn not to buy resold items incase such a rule is in place.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1785627 21-May-2017 20:25

firefuze:
sbiddle:

As dodgy as you think Viagogo are (their website is about as scammy as they come) they are a massive global player and are an official ticket reseller for a large number of events. Reselling tickets is not illegal and in many of their markets they do clearly list the face value of the tickets they are selling.

Why did you not attend the event?

I did attend but since purchased a legitimate ticket from Ticketmaster directly. I was deeply concerned that the ticket I had been supplied by Viagogo was invalid, sold multiple times or the original purchaser would attend with the same ticket causing myself to be rejected at the gate.

I wasn't prepared to take any of those risks

Why didn't you contact the event holder to see if the ticket was valid or not, before assuming it wasn't ? That way you would be 100 percent sure. I am surprised they allowed you to do the chargeback initially without some form of proof. I don't think you went wrong this the right way.

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

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#1785628 21-May-2017 20:25

$130 in booking fees?! Wow! Definitely worse than Ticketmaster etc.

Sony

sbiddle

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#1785639 21-May-2017 20:41

sonyxperiageek:

$130 in booking fees?! Wow! Definitely worse than Ticketmaster etc.

They're a reseller. It's how they make money. They also need to absorb losses (such as a cancelled event) when they have to pay out to people who have purchased tickets.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1785658 21-May-2017 21:28

sbiddle:

sonyxperiageek:

$130 in booking fees?! Wow! Definitely worse than Ticketmaster etc.

They're a reseller. It's how they make money. They also need to absorb losses (such as a cancelled event) when they have to pay out to people who have purchased tickets.

Wouldn't they themselves get a refund though from the event ticketing company, if an event got cancelled? Or wouldn't they be able to get this?

Dingbatt

6754 posts

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#1785673 21-May-2017 21:55

sbiddle:
sonyxperiageek:

$130 in booking fees?! Wow! Definitely worse than Ticketmaster etc.

They're a reseller. It's how they make money. They also need to absorb losses (such as a cancelled event) when they have to pay out to people who have purchased tickets.

@Firefuze

My wife got caught out by the same thing. Googled the concert rather than logging on to the Ticketmaster website, went to Viagogo instead, purchased the tickets and was charged a $100 booking fee. Contacted our card provider, but was told ours was a legitimate transaction and a reversal was only possible if there was a failure to deliver.
Closer to the concert I checked with Ticketmaster to make sure the tickets were valid (seats matched booking) which they were. Everything turned out okay with no problems on the night, although there were a few nerves waiting in the queue.

There were so many lessons learned by my other half when it comes to buying stuff online. From knowing what (secure) website you are actually on, to doing a simple logic check on the final sum you are being charged. And not to google stuff when there are really only two ticket sellers in NZ. If it's not on one then it'll be on the other.
All for an additional $100, and three months worry about whether the tickets are valid or not. I understand your anguish and can empathise with how easy it is to get caught out. However, I don't believe Viagogo is doing anything illegal, underhanded yes, but not something you can get a charge back on unless the tickets are fraudulent. They must pay a fortune to be at the top of google searches. That's probably where some of our $100 went.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

Athlonite

1828 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1785710 22-May-2017 03:43

sbiddle:

firefuze:

During the buy process online all amounts were shown as $NZD but upon checking my credit card I was charged the same amount but in Euro's resulting an extra ~$100NZD after currency conversion. i.e $220NZD at checkout became €220 on my credit card resulting in $350NZD

Was that because of the booking fees though? $130 in booking fees/extras sounds about right for a $220 ticket.

Note I'm not defending them - they operate along the lines of scammer but are a legitimate business. It's more than there is nothing I've seen you post that would be deemed as legitimate reasons for a charge back.

Did you miss the bit where it said price advertised in NZD$ right up until actual payment taken which was in Euro's not NZ dollars in NZ that's completely illegal to say your paying in one currency only to charge you in a completely other currency you must inform a buyer of the currency they'll be charged in right from the get go

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