Ticketmaster Fined
“ Ticketmaster is facing a $50,000 fine and a change in how it does business after an Illinois Attorney General investigation found that the company had not clearly told customers they were paying marked up ticket prices.
As part of the agreement, TicketsNow, owned by Ticketmaster, will also close 100 websites that tricked customers into believing that they were purchasing directly from the concert venue.
Though the $50,000 fine is relatively small (perhaps convenience fees will triple it), the biggest win is for consumers. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan stated, “This agreement will substantially impact how the TicketsNow online brokers market popular event tickets so that consumers clearly understand that they are making purchases from a ticket reseller at marked-up rates.”
Making a purchase from one of these deceptive websites is easier than you’d imagine, especially since Ticketmaster used to direct consumers to TicketsNow before reaching a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General earlier this year.
Before that change, my parents were duped into paying more than double the face value for Lion King tickets at a site similar to TicketsNow. They only found out about the huge price difference when the tickets arrived and it was clear that they were for the cheapest seats to the show; which were still available at their face value from Ticketmaster and the venue.
While many consumers will still express concerns over the various fees that Ticketmaster charges and its merger with LiveNation; this agreement will save concertgoers a lot of cash going forward — which can then be spent on really cool t-shirts.”
Tags: rape fee, ticketmaster
July 5th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I love how there is a tag on the site for rape fee.
July 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
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