Is Viagogo Safe to Buy Tickets in the UK? What You Need to Know
Scammers are using Viagogo's reputation to steal thousands from UK ticket buyers — here's exactly how to stay safe.
What Viagogo is — and why it has such a bad reputation
Viagogo is a secondary ticket marketplace, meaning it connects people who have tickets to sell with people who want to buy them. It is a real company that has operated in the UK since 2006. However, it built a lasting bad reputation through a practice called drip pricing: listing tickets at an attractive base price, then adding large booking fees, order processing charges, and delivery costs at the checkout stage, by which point many buyers had already committed emotionally to the purchase.
In 2018, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) secured a court order against Viagogo — one of the few times the CMA had to go to court after a company refused to offer undertakings voluntarily. The order required Viagogo to show the total ticket price upfront and to provide clearer information about sellers. The CMA subsequently monitored compliance and threatened contempt proceedings before suspending further action once changes were made. Buyer complaints about fees, refunds, and invalid tickets have continued to be reported since then.
The fees: what you actually pay versus the listed price
The advertised price and the final payable total can differ because compulsory fees and delivery charges may apply. Check the total, currency and delivery terms before entering payment details.
The CMA’s enforcement action required clearer pricing and seller information. That does not make every listing good value or every ticket valid, so compare the final total with the face value and any official resale option. Pricing is under live scrutiny again: the CMA opened a new consumer protection investigation into Viagogo on 17 November 2025, examining whether mandatory fees are included in the total price shown at the start of the purchase process.
As of the CMA's 23 June 2026 case update the investigation is ongoing and no finding has been made, so it should not be assumed that Viagogo has infringed consumer protection law.
Are Viagogo tickets valid? What can go wrong
Many buyers receive valid tickets and attend their event without issue. However, several things can go wrong:
- Duplicate or cancelled tickets. A seller may list the same ticket to multiple buyers, or the original ticket may be cancelled by the promoter. Viagogo should replace these under its buyer guarantee, but the process takes time and can be difficult if the event has already passed.
- Nominative or restricted tickets. Some events link tickets to the original buyer or restrict resale. The promoter’s terms may allow cancellation or refusal of entry, even where the ticket itself is genuine.
- Late or non-delivery. Viagogo often releases tickets close to the event date, though timing varies by event. If tickets have not arrived, contact Viagogo support through the platform before assuming fraud.
Your rights if something goes wrong
Viagogo publishes a buyer guarantee that may provide replacement tickets or a refund when a ticket is invalid, subject to its current terms and deadlines. Contact the platform promptly; disputes are harder after an event has passed.
For stronger protection:
- Pay by credit card where practical. Section 75 may apply to a qualifying credit-card purchase over £100 and not more than £30,000, but the required credit and supplier relationship must be present; ask the card issuer to assess the facts.
- Chargeback. If you paid by card and the seller does not deliver, contact the card issuer promptly and ask whether the card-scheme rules allow a chargeback. Time limits vary.
- If a seller contacts you and asks for payment outside the Viagogo platform — by bank transfer, PayPal Friends and Family, or gift cards — stop immediately. This is a scam separate from Viagogo's own practices, and no buyer protection applies. Report it to Viagogo, and to Report Fraud in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
When it is definitely a scam — not just Viagogo being Viagogo
Separate from Viagogo's own controversial practices, fraudsters exploit Viagogo's reputation in specific ways:
- Fake Viagogo websites. Scammers build replica sites with near-identical URLs (viag0go.com, viagogo-tickets.co.uk, or similar) to harvest payment details. Always confirm the URL is viagogo.com exactly before entering any information. Type the address directly into your browser rather than clicking a link from an email or social media.
- Off-platform sellers. Someone contacts you on social media, by email, or via a classified ad claiming to have Viagogo tickets and asking for direct payment. Viagogo does not operate this way. Any seller asking you to pay outside the platform is conducting a fraud.
- Fake order confirmation emails. Phishing emails can imitate booking confirmations and direct you to a lookalike sign-in or payment page. Check the order by opening Viagogo yourself rather than using the email link.
Frequently asked questions
Is Viagogo a scam or a legitimate company?
Viagogo is a real, registered company, not a scam operation. It is a secondary ticket resale marketplace that has operated since 2006 and has been subject to formal enforcement by the UK Competition and Markets Authority. The company changed some of its practices following that action. Legitimate and risk-free are not the same thing with Viagogo — buyers should understand the fee structure, refund limitations, and ticket validity risks before purchasing.
Are Viagogo tickets genuine and will they work at the door?
Many buyers receive valid tickets and attend without issue. However, there is a meaningful risk that tickets are invalid, duplicated, or nominative (linked to the original buyer's name, which venues can refuse). The risk is higher for very high-demand events where promoters actively cancel resold tickets.
Can I get a refund from Viagogo if the event is cancelled?
Check Viagogo’s current terms and contact it promptly. A qualifying credit-card purchase may also give you a Section 75 route, but eligibility depends on the payment and supplier arrangements.
What did the CMA do about Viagogo?
In 2018, the UK Competition and Markets Authority secured a court order against Viagogo after the company refused to offer undertakings voluntarily — unlike StubHub, GetMeIn, and Seatwave, which offered undertakings at an earlier stage. The court order required Viagogo to show full prices upfront and provide clearer seller information. The CMA then monitored compliance before suspending further proceedings. The CMA case is publicly documented on gov.uk. Separately, on 17 November 2025 the CMA opened a new investigation into whether Viagogo's mandatory fees are included in the total price shown at the start of the purchase process; that investigation is ongoing and no finding has been made.
Is there a safer alternative to Viagogo for resale tickets?
Yes. Twickets is a face-value resale platform where sellers cannot charge above the original ticket price. Ticketmaster's Fan-to-Fan exchange and the official resale functions on See Tickets and Eventim allow sellers to list tickets with verified ownership within the original platform. Buying directly from the venue or the event's official ticketing partner avoids the resale market, and with it the risks specific to resale — but check the web address carefully first, because fake “official” ticket sites exist too. The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) maintains a list of approved members who follow a consumer protection code of practice.
Sources checked
- GOV.UK — CMA secures court order against viagogo
- CMA — viagogo consumer protection enforcement case (opened 17 November 2025; no finding made)
- Viagogo UK Support — What is the viagogo Guarantee?
- Report Fraud — reporting a fraud, and who the service covers
- Police Scotland — contact us: non-emergencies on 101