You buy a cheaper ticket over the internet and end up paying more anyway? There will be changes, UOKiK has made charges

After analyzing 300 offers available on the ebliet.pl portal, UOKiK noticed a certain regularity. With each attempt to buy a ticket, the platform added a service fee at the final stage of the ordering process. The customer does not know until this point that he will have to pay more.

UOKiK accuses ticketing services of irregularities. There will be changes

The information available on the ticket distributors’ websites misleads the buyers. Consumers receive information that the prices of tickets for the event they are interested in cost, for example, from PLN 90 to PLN 150. The truth is that the total amount you will have to pay for the ticket will always exceed the minimum stated on the website.

Our findings so far show that the consumer has no chance to buy a ticket at the price referred to as the minimum price. In such a situation, the entrepreneur’s marketing message may be misleading – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Information about additional fees for an event sometimes appears when you go to a specific event page and click on the “i” symbol. Then, after expanding, we read that the amounts given may be increased. However, the amount of the obligatory service fee appears for the first time only after selecting the category and type of ticket and the place on the hall plan.

At each stage of getting acquainted with the offer, the consumer must have true information about the price. This is a very important factor influencing the purchase decision. The price should be presented in a clear and legible way, it cannot be misleading. It must be given as gross and include all mandatory fees – adds Chróstny.

In connection with the irregularities noted, UOKiK filed charges against eBilet. Similar practices were also noticed on the Eventim and Ticketmaster platforms. Companies have been urged to change.