Cancellation of resold World Cup tickets? Unfair, the portal faces. Czech offers even for 20 thousand

There is a little over a week left until the start of the Hockey World Cup, and it is clear that Prague and Otrava could break the record they set nine years ago, when they attracted a total of 741,690 spectators.

According to the organizers, only about a quarter of the tickets remain for sale in both cities. There is still free time for most of the matches – exceptionally strong this year – of the United States or some of the traditionally attractive matches of Canada.

But those who would like to see the Czech Republic in the basic group are out of luck. On Ticketportal, the official sales point, it will be frozen in all cases by the phrase “currently unavailable”.

“It is possible that during the championship we will still release tickets for the Czech team from unclaimed reservations in the order of tens of tickets,” hopes Jan Kuklík from the tournament’s organizing committee.

Otherwise, risky resale remains as an option.

Even though the organizers explicitly prohibit resale according to the terms and conditions, the first advertisements started to appear on portals such as Bazoš only shortly after the launch of the official sale in October last year.

After many months, the situation is practically the same. “Veksláck” tickets to Bohemia can still be found on Bazoš or perhaps on the Facebook Marketplace.

However, the Viagogo website probably stands out the most because of the level and systematicity with which tickets are offered there.

Anyone interested in, for example, the match between the Czech Republic and Finland can find out in the clear map of Prague’s O2 arena which sectors and rows are free.

Of course, he will pay extra, especially if he wants to take someone with him. For two places next to each other, he will add up to around 40,000 crowns, which is almost the average Czech monthly salary.

The original price of such an experience (in addition to the package with the match Switzerland – Norway) is 8,360 crowns.

Multiple price increases are not the exception on Viagogo, but rather the rule. It’s about earning. Nevertheless, in a statement to Aktuálně.cz, the portal describes itself as “a regulated marketplace that allows customers to resell tickets for events that they cannot attend themselves”.

World Cup organizers don’t have many options to defend themselves against bribery, especially with Viagogo, which is based in the United States after moving from Switzerland.

However, as they announced in advance, they can cancel specific tickets and release them for sale again. “This situation has already occurred, it was a matter of individual cases,” admitted Kuklík.

Although it is not clear where these tickets came from, in general Viagogo objects to such a procedure: “Ticket cancellation is an unfair and indeed disturbing step to control the distribution of tickets and limit the freedom and flexibility of fans. (…) We consider this behavior aimed at consumers to be totally unacceptable.”

The firm insists that it complies with the laws in every country in which it operates.

But he has had a number of missteps. In 2018, it received a fine from the Czech Trade Inspection for unfair practices and is repeatedly the subject of complaints in the legal advice of dTest magazine. The problem is undelivered tickets or non-return of money.

Some banks, for example Fio banka, UniCredit Bank or Air Bank, do not allow card payments on Viagogo in an effort to protect their clients.

This shows that second-hand tickets are definitely not problematic just because of the price. Buyers risk not getting the ticket, it will be fake or it will be resold several times, so only one holder gets into the hall, the one who comes first.

Understandably, the police have also fallen for the swindlers, who, according to information from Aktuálně.cz, have already discovered hundreds of fake tickets for the hockey championship.

But while he can deal with forgeries as a criminal offense, he has limited options for the one-time resale of valid tickets, even for several times the price, because Czech laws are ambiguous in this regard.

“If someone comes in front of the hall and starts selling tickets, they are violating the seller’s terms and conditions and are committing a misdemeanor. The police, just like in the past, will deal with it and can impose a fine on the person concerned,” Prague police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčová points out before the May championship.

At the WC nine years ago, however, all those detained in this way escaped without punishment.

On the other hand, the fact that they lost profit due to police “disruption” can be taken as a punishment.