Viagogo nightmare

[Lazerquest]

I sold some tickets on viagogo for a show as we could no longer make the date. As I don’t have a printer I couldn’t post them via viagogo’s preferred courier so sent them next day signed for via Royal Mail and send the buyer the tracking details.

A few days later viagogo email me saying they are taking over the sale and refunding the buyer as the sale hasn’t been fulfilled, and they charged me £87 to compensate the buyer.

So I have lost out on my tickets, the £150 I sold them for and have been charged £87. Viagogo are saying they are not responsible and there is nothing they can do. I have phoned the buyer who hung up and blocked me as soon as he realised who I was.

As I have the buyers phone number and address, is there any way I can recover any of this money or my tickets? I can afford to lose this but feel it is really disingenuous of them for accepting a refund and compensation at my expense when they know full well they received the tickets in good faith and in time.

Moral of the story is never use viagogo (which I now know!) but does anyone have any opinions on how I could proceed with this or should I just let it slide as a lesson learned?

Surely your complaint is with Royal Mail if the issue is non delivery of the tickets (not entirely clear from your post)

Does the signed for delivery tracking show a signature? Not sure Royal Mail are getting signatures since Covid - they may have just delivered it with no signature, and maybe that's the issue.

Sadly the tickets were delivered and signed for with Royal Mail. But as i used a different courier to the one viagogo recommend they are saying the sale wasn’t fulfilled and have refunded the buyer even though I have proof of them signing for the tickets.

A few years ago I sold some tickets with them for a concert I couldn't attend. The buyer simply made a claim that the envelope I had sent was empty. Of course it wasn't but I had no way of proving otherwise.
I wouldn't bother with them again. You will have to try claiming via Royal Mail.

We had something very similar with the same company a few years ago. Ended up out of pocket for the original cost of the concert tickets plus what the buyer paid for them, would never use them to sell tickets on again.

@Lazerquest

Sadly the tickets were delivered and signed for with Royal Mail. But as i used a different courier to the one viagogo recommend they are saying the sale wasn’t fulfilled and have refunded the buyer even though I have proof of them signing for the tickets.

If their T’s and C’s say that is how you need to send the tickets then that is binding. However it would appear that the recipient now has the tickets and able to use them but has not had to pay anything? Is that right?

So the buyer has scammed you.

When is the concert? I would tell the venue to invalidate the tickets

Take Viagogo to small claims court, if you have signed proof of delivery Viagogo owe you the £287, plus any costs incured.

@Ohsugarhoneyicetea

Take Viagogo to small claims court, if you have signed proof of delivery Viagogo owe you the £287, plus any costs incured.

No because Viagogo will rely on their contract terms which OP broke

The person who has benefited unfairly here is the purchaser of the tickets who - if I have understood correctly- has effectively got free tickets

I suggest writing to the purchaser and seeking payment for the event (if they did in fact attend)

Yes the event has been and viagogo refunded the buyer for the cost of the tickets and offered them compensation of £87 for me not fulfilling the sale (which I had to pay). This all happened after the buyer had signed for and received the tickets.

So the buyer has received the tickets for free and got £87 compensation from me. I’m wondering if I should write to the buyer to ask for some of this money back but they blocked me when I tried phoning them (as they obviously realise they’ve got all of this at my expense!)

Can Trading Standards or CAB help?

You might get help because Viagogo have been in trouble everywhere for a lot of stuff.

I have no personal experience except to say that I took one of my DC to an Ed Sheeran concert a while ago at Wembley and there were different signposted queues depending on what tickets you had and one of them was "viagogo victims".

Never been near them because of that.

@Lazerquest

Yes the event has been and viagogo refunded the buyer for the cost of the tickets and offered them compensation of £87 for me not fulfilling the sale (which I had to pay). This all happened after the buyer had signed for and received the tickets.

So the buyer has received the tickets for free and got £87 compensation from me. I’m wondering if I should write to the buyer to ask for some of this money back but they blocked me when I tried phoning them (as they obviously realise they’ve got all of this at my expense!)

You have their address so write a letter - but only if you are going to follow through with legal action (small claims court). Your claim is unjust enrichment. Search for free legal clinics in your area fir advice. It’s not worth paying a solicitor given the amount involved but the cheeky bugger buyers shouldn’t end up having had a free night out on the back of a technicality

Either Royal Mail delivered the tickets to the wrong person or the buyer has scammed you. If it is the latter, you have a claim against the buyer. You need to write them a letter setting out the facts, saying what you want from them (the amount they should have paid for the tickets plus £87) and how it is calculated, and giving them a reasonable deadline to respond (28 days is normal). Include copies of any documents on which you will rely (emails from Viagogo, a copy of the signature Royal Mail got on delivery, plus anything else useful). You should state clearly that, if they fail to respond satisfactorily by the deadline, you will take legal action.

Note that, if you do end up taking legal action, you can claim your court fees from the buyer along with interest on the amount they owe you.

You shouldn't need help from a legal clinic and you certainly don't need a solicitor for this. It sounds like a very straightforward case. The only defence they can have as far as I can see is that Royal Mail did not deliver the tickets to them, which would only hold up if the signature obtained by Royal Mail is not theirs.

Have the tickets actually been cancelled? Can you cancel them as you have already lost your money and make sure the people cannot use them?

Can you check the buyer's social media for evidence they attended?

@MattDamon

Can you check the buyer's social media for evidence they attended?

That doesn't necessarily help. If an order is not fulfilled, Viagogo try to provide replacement tickets. It may be that the £87 represents the amount Viagogo had to pay to obtain replacements. It is also possible the buyer used the compensation to obtain replacement tickets from elsewhere. So the buyer attending the event does not prove that they received the tickets sent by the OP.

@Theunamedcat

Have the tickets actually been cancelled? Can you cancel them as you have already lost your money and make sure the people cannot use them?

The tickets were not cancelled and the OP has told us that the event has already happened.