CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Ticketmaster subsidiary TicketsNow is shutting down numerous websites with misleading domain names as part of an settlement reached with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Madigan's office investigated TicketsNow.com after receiving complaints that the company was using deceptive practices to sell tickets at prices much higher than face value through hundreds of websites operated by TicketsNow.
TicketsNow brokers would resell prepurchased event tickets through websites operated by Ticketsnow that appeared to be affiliated with a performer, venue or sports team and led consumers to believe they were purchasing tickets directly from the originator, the San Francisco Business Journal reported. More than 100 such websites have already been disabled as a result of the probe.
As a part of the settlement, TicketsNow agreed to clearly brand all ticket reselling operations and has also agreed to pay a fine of $50,000 to finance to consumer fraud enforcement and education in Illinois. Additionally, TicketsNow has agreed to no longer sell tickets on any of its web sites until after TicketMaster offers tickets at face value to the general public. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
