Google can't take credit for Viagogo ban - Consumer NZ

Google is being criticised for the time it took to ban a controversial ticket re-seller from its paid search results.

The tech giant has blocked controversial re-seller Viagogo from its paid search results, after being found to be in breach of its advertising policy.

But Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin says it should have been done a long time ago.

"We've been asking them for years to do this, and they've always said Viagogo meets their accreditation, which we found extraordinary."

The suspension will go into effect immediately.

The Switzerland-based site is a favourite for scammers to sell fake concert tickets. A number of people have fallen victim to scams on the site over the years.

It's recently faced court action here from the Commerce Commission, being accused of making false or misleading representations that it's an "official" seller, misleading customers about the price of tickets, saying tickets were limited or about to sell out when they weren't, and telling buyers they would receive valid tickets to events.

Big names like Ed Sheeran and James Blunt have warned fans not to use Viagogo.

Chetwin says it's better late than never, but no one should think any better of Google for the move.

"It's the very least that Google could do. They should have done it years ago when we asked them to do it. In many respects Google can't take any credit for this because consumer groups have been asking them to do it."

Viagogo said it was "surprised" to be booted off Google's advertising platform.

"We are confident that there has been no breach of Google's policies and look forward to working with them to resolve this as quickly as possible," it said in a statement.

Newshub.