UOKiK examines companies that sell tickets. There are allegations
This time, websites selling tickets for cultural, sporting and entertainment events were under the watchful eye of UOKiK. The Office has reservations regarding the presentation of ticket prices. One of the companies has been charged, the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection is demanding explanations from the other two.
What led to UOKiK’s objections?
The Office informs that it has dealt with a case relating, inter alia, to the display of ticket prices for events by the eBilet service after the UOKiK received signals about possible irregularities. The first reservation about the platform was the fact that at the initial stage of the ticket search, the user was informed about the minimum prices, e.g. “tickets from 100 PLN”. Although prices for events vary depending on the seat selected in the audience, the minimum price is still displayed to the consumer after going to the website of a specific event.
UOKiK also believes that the fact that the customer is only informed of the amount of the additional service fee for each purchase after selecting the category and type of ticket and the space in the hall plan violates the provisions. The Office emphasizes that these are not isolated cases, since during the inspection it analyzed over 300 offers available on the ebilet.pl portal and added a service fee each time at the final stage. According to the President of UOKiK, the information about tickets “from 100 PLN” misleads consumers in this case, since the addition of a mandatory service fee makes it impossible to buy a ticket at this price.
Tomasz Chróstny stressed that the company did not change its practices after receiving information from UOKiK. So he decided to sue eBilet for violating collective consumer interests. If the allegations of the office are confirmed, the entrepreneur faces a fine of up to 10% of the annual turnover.
The office requires an explanation
In its communiqué, UOKiK notes that it has identified similar issues at two other companies involved in selling tickets to various events – Eventim and Ticketmaster Poland.
On the Eventim platform, when the offer is presented in the initial stage, as with eBilet, “Prices from …” can be seen as one of the first pieces of information. Similarly, Ticketmaster presents part of its offer by providing prices for standard tickets. UOKiK showed that both websites do not allow consumers to buy a ticket at the minimum price indicated above, even if they choose the cheapest seats, as additional fees are added to this price.
The Office for Competition and Consumer Protection sent explanations to Eventim and Ticketmaster Poland, expecting clarifications and changes in practice. If the companies don’t respond or don’t follow the agency’s recommendations, they too can be prosecuted.
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