29 April 2021, Budapest – The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has established that the operator of Budapest Park infringed the law by failing to inform consumers of the handling fees payable in addition to its ticket prices in its advertisements. Since the undertaking had eliminated its misleading practice, which was its first infringement as well, the GVH only issued a warning this time.
The investigation of the GVH uncovered that Kultúrpark Zrt., the operator of Budapest Park, had been misleading consumers during the online sale of tickets to concerts and events held at the event venue between 2019 and the beginning of 2021. This is due to the fact that the website, social media profiles, and online advertisements of Budapest Park failed to indicate all factors affecting the prices of the tickets; therefore, consumers were only informed of the actual amount payable in the final stages of the purchase.
The operator of the event venue cooperated with the GVH; it modified its practices directly after the initiation of the proceeding, admitted the infringement of the law, and began establishing an internal rule of procedures (a so-called compliance programme) in order to prevent similar issues in the future. Since the undertaking falls into the category of small and medium enterprises, this was the first time it committed an infringement, the consumers affected were not considered vulnerable, and the undertaking showed a willingness to cooperate, the Authority opted to issue a warning instead of imposing a fine.
The GVH also took into account the fact that the pandemic significantly reduced the economic activity of the undertaking; its revenue was far below that of earlier years. This means that the undertaking can prepare for the future period when events can once again be held with commercial practices corrected in light of the proceeding and a compliance programme aimed at preventing similar infringements in the future.
The official registration number of the case is: VJ/17/2020.
GVH Press Office