(1) Based on the consideration that the defendant offered tickets for a concert of the artist Souljah Boy on 21 December 2010 in "De Melkweg", Amsterdam, while "De Melkweg's" online concert programme did not mention any such concert on that date, the Consumer Authority concluded that the defendant offered tickets for a non-existing event. In a short reasoning, the Authority concluded that the offering for non-existing concerts constitutes a misleading commercial practice.
(2) It was held by the Authority that the defendant's recurring statement (i.e. for all offerings without distinction) that the tickets are scarce and only available at its website ("very last, hard to get tickets"), creates the impression that these tickets are no longer available at the official selling point. As this was certainly not always the case, the Authority ruled that such a statement constitutes incorrect and misleading information which is likely to cause the consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
(3) The Consumer Authority held that the fact that the defendant was a reseller of event tickets, constitutes essential information for the consumer, as the consumer needs this information to understand that the defendant is not an official point of sale of the tickets. That the defendant only mentioned this information in its general conditions was considered to be misleading, as the Authority was of the opinion that the general conditions are not the appropriate place to inform consumers on the identity and characteristics of a trader. Moreover, the mentioning in the information section of the website that the defendant was a "ticket mediation company", is not sufficient as such information is not of the nature as to allow the consumer to fully understand that the defendant is a reseller only.
(4) The Authority first noticed that an invitation to purchase on a website is not limited by any physical boundaries (such as the size of a billboard or the limited size of a newspaper page). With respect to the information offered in the invitation to purchase, the Authority considered the following:
- As to the fact that it was not clearly indicated that the tickets were resold, the Authority held that such information is essential as it can urge the consumer to make additional inquiries (risks of such purchase, etc.). In addition, a consumer will most likely not investigate whether or not a ticket is resold. As a result, such information must be indicated in an apparent and clear way in the invitation to purchase.
- With respect to the exact indication of place and rank in the event (e.g. exact place of a seat), the Consumer Authority held that such information is of an essential nature as the consumer's transactional decision will most likely be based on this information. This is also the case when an exact location is not possible or when there is a possibility that places will not be adjacent when ordering several tickets.
- With regard to the fact that the ticket will be invalid when it is resold (as stated in the general conditions of the original seller), the Authority held that such information constitutes essential information as the risk exists that the consumer who buys the ticket will not be allowed to the event. If such information is not communicated to the consumer in the invitation to purchase, the consumer can reasonably expect that he will have access to the event on showing the ticket. The consumer must be duly warned so that he can assess whether to take the risk to purchase a resold ticket. It is noted that this information is not the kind of information one can expect the consumer to investigate.
- As to the identity of the trader, it was stated that the invitation to purchase should clearly mention the identity of the trader, including its legal form. The fact that such information is provided in the general conditions of the website (only), is insufficient.
- The Consumer Authority stated that the prices indicated in an invitation to purchase must always be the prices inclusive of taxes and delivery charges.