Ed Sheeran’s promotion company has dismissed as “laughable” a lawsuit filed against it for alleged fraud by controversial ticket resale company Viagogo.
Switzerland-based Viagogo, which is due to face a grilling from MPs about its controversial practices on Wednesday, said it had issued legal proceedings against Kilimanjaro Live over the company’s decision to cancel thousands of tickets for Sheeran’s concerts purchased through the ticket resale site.
It accused Kilimanjaro’s chief executive, Stuart Galbraith, of “confiscating thousands of genuine tickets at the gate, forcing fans to buy new tickets, and pocketing millions of pounds in duplicate sales”.
It said Galbraith had previously used Viagogo to sell “thousands of tickets to a range of his artists’ events, presumably without their knowledge”.
It added: “Following a dispute over his request for preferred terms, he threatened that he would use his artists, such as Ed Sheeran and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to put pressure on Viagogo even if it meant causing huge inconvenience to his artist’s fans.”
Viagogo said it would provide “incontrovertible photographic and filmed evidence” to a court in Germany, where it filed its claim.
A spokesperson for Kilimanjaro Live said the claims were “ludicrous, laughable and most importantly totally false”.
Referring to Wednesday’s appearance by Viagogo before MPs at the digital, culture, media and sport select committee, the spokesperson said: “This is a transparent attempt to deflect attention away from their upcoming appearance at the DCMS inquiry and the wide-ranging criticisms, multiple legal prosecutions in many territories (including by the Competitions and Markets Authority in the UK) and condemnation of their business practices.
“Kilimanjaro will defend against this action vigorously and look forward to doing so in court.”
Viagogo declined to say why it did not file legal proceedings in the UK, where the Sheeran concerts took place and where Galbraith is based.
When contacted by the Guardian, Galbraith, one of the music industry’s most vocal critics of ticket touts and resale websites, said he was not aware of legal proceedings.
Viagogo revealed its lawsuit on the eve of the hearing with the select committee. Senior executive Cristopher Miller is expected to face questions about alleged breaches of consumer law, which led to the CMA to take legal action against Viagogo.
Viagogo, controlled by the multimillionaire Eric Baker, has been criticised by artists such as Sheeran, fans and ministers, one of whom called for a boycott earlier this year.
It has caused anger with practices such as selling tickets to buyers, only for them to be denied entry at the venue. Some fans have reported being left out of pocket because the company withheld refunds to which they were entitled.
The company has been condemned for seeking to profit from multiple events in aid of charity and for allowing touts to charge huge markups to see acts such as Adele.
Fifa lodged a criminal complaint against Viagogo over unauthorised ticket sales for the World Cup in Russia earlier this year, while a Guardian investigation revealed the company was allowing touts to resell football tickets.
Viagogo is no longer under investigation by National Trading Standards after agreeding to a demand by the Advertising Standards Authority to stop publishing “misleading” pricing information.
