TEG Live Pty Limited (TEG Live) has committed to refunding over $5 million to about 5000 consumers who bought approximately 20,000 tickets to watch basketball games featuring the USA men’s national basketball team in August 2019, after providing a court-enforceable undertaking to the ACCC.
The games in which the USA national team played the ‘Boomers’, the Australian national basketball team, on 22 and 24 August 2019 in Melbourne and the Canadian national basketball team on 26 August 2019 in Sydney, were promoted by TEG Live from March 2018.
TEG Live admits it made false or misleading claims about seating at the games held in Melbourne and acknowledged the ACCC’s concerns that it may have breached the Australian Consumer Law by misleading consumers about which USA national basketball team players would be playing, or would be available to play, in the games.
“In our view, TEG Live’s conduct was unacceptable, and we are pleased around 5000 consumers will receive automatic refunds before the end of July,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
In addition, when promoting these games, TEG Live used a picture of an American basketball stadium showing the floor-level seats would be tiered. In fact, the seats at the Melbourne games were not tiered and many consumers had obstructed views.
“Consumers paid a premium for floor-level seats, ranging between $895 and $3995 for a hospitality package and may have done so as a result of misleading seating advertising,” Mr Sims said.
The ACCC also considers that TEG Live may have misled consumers when it advertised the games using names and images of high profile USA players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant that did not ultimately play in the games, when it did not have reasonable grounds in most cases for representing to consumers they would play or be available to play.
“Over a year before the games, a 35-man squad was selected and TEG Live included the names and images of the majority of those players in its advertisements,” Mr Sims said.
“In the end, only four players from the 35-man squad, Harrison Barnes, Kemba Walker, Khris Middleton and Miles Turner, played in the games.”
“We are concerned consumers may have purchased tickets believing many of these advertised high profile players would be playing when, in the end, this was not the case,” Mr Sims said.
Affected consumers will be contacted by TEG Live and receive an automatic refund using their original payment method before the end of July.
The undertaking provided by TEG Live can be found here: TEG Live
Background
Between March 2018 and August 2019, TEG Live promoted three basketball games in Australia involving the USA men’s national basketball team:
- 22 and 24 August 2019 at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne; and
- 26 August 2019 at Qudos Bank Area, Sydney.
Only four of the original 35-man squad attended the games, with the remainder of the team being made up of players who were added to the team two months before the games.
Only four of the original 35-man squad attended the games, with the remainder of the team being made up of players who were added to the team two months before the games.
TEG Live will provide refunds to the following consumers:
- consumers who purchased tickets on or after 15 August 2018, made a refund request prior to the relevant game on the basis that one or more USA players referred to in the advertisements were not attending and did not attend the game;
- consumers who purchased floor-level seats at the Melbourne games between 18 June 2018 and 24 August 2019.
