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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/aug/30/profiteering-viagogo-called-to-face-mps-after-earlier-refusal
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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| 'Profiteering' Viagogo called to face MPs after earlier refusal | 'Profiteering' Viagogo called to face MPs after earlier refusal |
| (30 days later) | |
| The controversial ticket resale website Viagogo has been called to appear before a parliamentary inquiry, a year after it outraged MPs by refusing to turn up to a previous evidence session. | The controversial ticket resale website Viagogo has been called to appear before a parliamentary inquiry, a year after it outraged MPs by refusing to turn up to a previous evidence session. |
| The secondary ticketing site, already the subject of multiple investigations for alleged transgressions including breaches of consumer law, is expected to send an executive to a hearing on 5 September. | The secondary ticketing site, already the subject of multiple investigations for alleged transgressions including breaches of consumer law, is expected to send an executive to a hearing on 5 September. |
| Well done Ticketmaster for closing resale sites – but it ain't over yet | Well done Ticketmaster for closing resale sites – but it ain't over yet |
| MPs on the department for media, culture and sport (DCMS) select committee will grill the company’s vice-president of business development, Christopher Miller, about a litany of controversies involving the Switzerland-based company. | MPs on the department for media, culture and sport (DCMS) select committee will grill the company’s vice-president of business development, Christopher Miller, about a litany of controversies involving the Switzerland-based company. |
| Miller is a long-time lieutenant of Viagogo’s publicity-shy founder-owner Eric Baker, having worked with him at StubHub in the US before the pair brought their secondary ticketing business model to Europe. | Miller is a long-time lieutenant of Viagogo’s publicity-shy founder-owner Eric Baker, having worked with him at StubHub in the US before the pair brought their secondary ticketing business model to Europe. |
| With just days to go before the hearing, Viagogo risked further antagonising MPs as it was condemned by a cancer charity for seeking to profit from a benefit gig by the comedian Russell Howard. | With just days to go before the hearing, Viagogo risked further antagonising MPs as it was condemned by a cancer charity for seeking to profit from a benefit gig by the comedian Russell Howard. |
| The website is allowing touts to advertise tickets for up to £132 for the show at Manchester Academy 1, staged by arts and music therapy charity Future Perfect in aid of the cancer hospital Christie. | The website is allowing touts to advertise tickets for up to £132 for the show at Manchester Academy 1, staged by arts and music therapy charity Future Perfect in aid of the cancer hospital Christie. |
| The tickets’ face value is £27.50 including booking fee. | The tickets’ face value is £27.50 including booking fee. |
| “It is indefensible that tickets are being touted for several times their face value,” said Linda Wyatt, founder of Future Perfect. | “It is indefensible that tickets are being touted for several times their face value,” said Linda Wyatt, founder of Future Perfect. |
| “We strongly condemn anyone attempting to profiteer from what is a charitable event,” she said. | “We strongly condemn anyone attempting to profiteer from what is a charitable event,” she said. |
| Labour MP Sharon Hodgson said: “Yet again we see the depths Viagogo will go to in order to profiteer, this time off the back of a fundraiser to support a cancer unit. | Labour MP Sharon Hodgson said: “Yet again we see the depths Viagogo will go to in order to profiteer, this time off the back of a fundraiser to support a cancer unit. |
| “Hoping they or the touts they facilitate will do the decent thing just doesn’t work. We need to get this practice of reselling charity tickets banned.” | “Hoping they or the touts they facilitate will do the decent thing just doesn’t work. We need to get this practice of reselling charity tickets banned.” |
| The company did not return a request for comment. | The company did not return a request for comment. |
| Skiddle, the company managing the box office for the event, said it was using mobile phone ticketing to combat touts, adding that seats were still available at face value. | Skiddle, the company managing the box office for the event, said it was using mobile phone ticketing to combat touts, adding that seats were still available at face value. |
| Viagogo has previously been accused of “moral repugnance” and “callous profiteering” for selling tickets to charity events featuring Ed Sheeran and comedian Peter Kay. | Viagogo has previously been accused of “moral repugnance” and “callous profiteering” for selling tickets to charity events featuring Ed Sheeran and comedian Peter Kay. |
| The website, which is used by some of the UK’s most powerful ticket touts to sell tickets harvested in bulk, often at vast mark-ups, has also faced criticism for selling tickets that see buyers denied entry and leaving fans out of pocket by withholding refunds. | The website, which is used by some of the UK’s most powerful ticket touts to sell tickets harvested in bulk, often at vast mark-ups, has also faced criticism for selling tickets that see buyers denied entry and leaving fans out of pocket by withholding refunds. |
| Margot James, minister for digital and the creative industries, urged consumers to boycott the company earlier this year. | Margot James, minister for digital and the creative industries, urged consumers to boycott the company earlier this year. |
| The firm is facing multiple investigations by UK regulators including the Competition and Markets Authority, which has threatened it with legal action for suspected breaches of consumer law. | The firm is facing multiple investigations by UK regulators including the Competition and Markets Authority, which has threatened it with legal action for suspected breaches of consumer law. |
| The Advertising Standards Authority referred Viagogo to National Trading Standards earlier this year over “misleading” pricing information. | The Advertising Standards Authority referred Viagogo to National Trading Standards earlier this year over “misleading” pricing information. |
| Switzerland’s secretariat for economic affairs launched civil proceedings against Viagogo over suspected unfair business practices last year, while Fifa lodged a criminal complaint against the company over unauthorised sale of tickets for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. | Switzerland’s secretariat for economic affairs launched civil proceedings against Viagogo over suspected unfair business practices last year, while Fifa lodged a criminal complaint against the company over unauthorised sale of tickets for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. |
| A Guardian investigation revealed earlier this year that the company was allowing touts to resell football tickets, which is against the law. | A Guardian investigation revealed earlier this year that the company was allowing touts to resell football tickets, which is against the law. |
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