Ticket companies, event promoters, venues and online search giant Google are being urged to step in and stop consumers getting ripped off by resale companies.
The call by consumer group Choice comes after a study of 1051 complaints from Australia, New Zealand and Britain ticket buyers found three quarters of them thought they had bought their tickets from an official online seller rather than a resale website.
Viagogo, TicketmasterResale, Seatwave and Stubhub were behind most of the complaints by Australians.
Many people who use resale sites end up being turned away from events because venues automatically cancel their tickets.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Choice says a big part of the problem is that search engines including Google allow resale websites to place paid links above official ticket sale sites, creating confusion for buyers.
Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey says search engines need to ensure ads for ticket resale sites don't include misleading claims about being official.
"While the resale industry has a legitimate reason to exist, it is in utter shambles," Mr Godfrey said on Wednesday."Choice is urging promoters, venues and ticketing companies to do their part to stop consumers getting ripped off."
Choice says ticket resellers often use unfair sales tactics to deliberately confuse and overcharge buyers.
"In one case, an AFL fan was duped into paying a 900 per cent mark up after being slugged $70 for a ticket for a match in Perth, which was later revealed to be a $7 children's ticket," Mr Godfrey said.
Choice wants online ticket resellers to make it clear to buyers they are a secondary market website and be made to state each ticket's details including the venue, seat, original price and any restrictions.
It is also urging promoters, venues and ticket companies to specify the number of tickets available for pre-sale and general sale, as well as the number of events in a scheduled tour and venue seat numbers.
The calls from Choice come just days after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced it was taking Viagogo to court, accusing the reseller of duping customers over ticket costs and tricking them into panic buying.
Viagogo, which resells unwanted tickets to big-name concerts and sporting events, is facing action in the Federal Court for allegedly misleading or deceptive conduct.
The consumer watchdog accuses Viagogo of failing to disclose "significant and unavoidable fees up-front in the ticket price".
