Ticket-selling website Viagogo is BANNED by Google after thousands of frustrated customers claim they were ripped off

  • Google suspended ticket re-seller Viagogo as an advertiser on Wednesday 
  • The ticket resale website has been accused of selling invalid tickets 
  • Viagogo said: 'We were extremely surprised to learn of Google's concerns' 

By Charlie Moore For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Google has suspended ticket re-seller Viagogo as an advertiser after finding the firm had breached its policies.

The ticket resale website has been accused of selling invalid tickets and double-selling seats for concerts and sporting events amid growing customer fury.

Google announced it would begin removing its ads on Wednesday. 

The ticket resale website has been accused of selling invalid tickets and double-selling seats for concerts and sports games amid growing customer fury

The ticket resale website has been accused of selling invalid tickets and double-selling seats for concerts and sports games amid growing customer fury

A spokesman said: 'When people use our platform for help in purchasing tickets, we want to make sure that they have an experience they can trust.

'This is why we have strict policies and take necessary action when we find anadvertiser in breach'.

Viagogo denied doing anything wrong.

A spokesman said: 'We were extremely surprised to learn of Google's concerns today.

'We are confident that there has been no breach of Google's policies and look forward to working with them to resolve this as quickly as possible.'

The website has come under heavy fire in the UK recently.

The Football Association, several MPs and the trade body UK Music urged Google to stop accepting money from Viagogo to place the ticket website at the top of its search rankings.

An open letter last year read: 'In effect, one of the world's most trusted brands – Google – is being paid to actively promote one of the least trusted.'

'We urge you to protect consumers who daily put their trust in Google, and act now to restrict Viagogo's ability to pay for prominence.'

UK Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries Margot James said: 'Viagogo have routinely flouted the rules, and I'm pleased to see Google taking proactive steps to protect consumers.'

An image of the Viagogo website ahead of the Wimbledon final shows tickets selling for more than $20,000

An image of the Viagogo website ahead of the Wimbledon final shows tickets selling for more than $20,000

Google's decision came after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided earlier this month to pursue legal action against Viagogo following repeated warnings over its compliance with consumer protection law.

The CMA said its contempt of court action followed several warnings that the company had not done enough to overhaul the way it presented information on its website and comply with the law.

The CMA launched court action against Viagogo in August, which resulted in the court order.

In November, the CMA secured a court order that obliged Viagogo to implement the necessary changes, in full, by January 17.

The watchdog raised concerns since then that the website was still not compliant with certain aspects of the order, and in March 2019 announced that it was preparing to take legal action for contempt of court.

Viagogo responded by committing to make further improvements to its website.

The CMA said that, although Viagogo had made 'many positive changes', these were not enough to comply fully with the court order.

The website has come under heavy fire in the UK recently

The website has come under heavy fire in the UK recently

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