BALTIMORE, MD (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced that his Consumer Protection Division has reached a settlement with Ticketmaster subsidiary TicketsNow.com over allegations that the company misled consumers into purchasing higher-priced secondary market tickets. The division alleged that in 2009, customers looking for concert tickets such as to Bruce Springsteen's 2009 concert at the Verizon Center were redirected to TicketsNow, where they purchased secondary market tickets without being aware that they had been transferred to a secondary market site.
The division also alleged that Ticketmaster deceived consumers when they failed to notify ticket purchasers that some of the reseller tickets were 'speculative' and not in the possession of the selling broker but were tickets the broker was intending to purchase in the future.
Moreover, Ticketmaster offered these consumers a "100% guarantee," but customers only received a refund and not the event tickets they sought.
Ticketmaster denies that they violated the consumer protection act, but under the terms of the settlement, Ticketmaster and their subsidiaries agree to clearly inform consumers when they are being transferred to TicketsNow.com. In addition, the settle requires that Ticketmaster companies to clearly describe tickets for sale, including so-called 'speculative tickets.'
Under the terms of the settlement, Ticketmaster also agreed to pay the Division $10,000 which can be used to pay damages to consumers who purchased, but did not receive, tickets to the 2009 Bruce Springsteen Verizon Center concert if the consumers were not already fully compensated by Ticketmaster. The Ticketmaster companies will also pay the Division costs in the amount of $25,000 as well as a $90,000 civil penalty. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
