Ticket re-seller Viagogo could be forced to pay back millions of pounds to Ed Sheeran fans and other customers who bought tickets through them but were then turned away from gigs.
Viagogo, which allows fans to sell tickets on at higher-than-face-value prices, has had a landmark court order placed against them by the Competition Markets Authority (CMA).
The court order is believed to include a requirement that the ticket re-seller refunds claims made by any disappointed customers since January 2016.
If you were affected the company should be in contact to arrange a refund.
Many Ed Sheeran fans were left out of pocket after buying tickets through the company.
Back in May those attending the Suffolk pop star’s Manchester concert with tickets purchased through Viagogo were denied entry but given the opportunity to buy new face-value tickets instead,
The fans had to pay an additional £80 for their new tickets and were advised to contact Viagogo to claim a refund for their resold tickets.
The singer has publicly said he want to protect fans and stop them being charged extortionate prices for tickets.
Ticket touts are currently selling tickets for Ed Sheeran’s Ipswich Chantry park gig for nine times their original price but buyers are being warned not to part with their cash.
A statement on the singer’s website reads: “Any Ed Sheeran ticket offered for resale elsewhere, either on or offline (including Viagogo or any other unauthorised source including all secondary ticket retail websites), will result in the entire original booking being cancelled.
“The original purchaser and their party will be refused admission and any other purchases they hold will also be cancelled.”
His Ipswich gigs are paperless meaning no physical tickets will be issued, instead ticket holders will need to present the card they used to purchase the ticket to enter.
Read more: Fans warned not to use reselling sites to secure Ed Sheeran tickets
As part of the ruling, Viagogo will be expected to pay for a third party to monitor sales and from January 17, 2019, it will have to make changes such as informing customers if there are ticket restrictions that mean they could be refused entry and identifying when sellers are professional touts.
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