Ticketmaster LLC and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment Inc. has been sued in a class action lawsuit for “unlawful and unfair business practices.”
Report by Undercover Reporters Shocks Customers
An undercover report by reporters from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Toronto Star newspaper in mid-September revealed that Ticketmaster may have been unfairly working with scalpers to increase profits.These scalpers acquired a large number of tickets and then resold them on another Ticketmaster platform, allowing the company to charge fees for both the initial and second sales.
The representatives seemed to indicate that the ticketing company was willing to work with ticket resellers who created a large quantity of fake accounts or used ticket-buying bots to acquire popular tickets on a mass scale, bypassing the company’s ticket-buying limits.
“I have brokers that have literally a couple of hundred accounts,” a sales representative told the reporters. “It’s not something that we look at or report.”
Class lawsuit filed in California Federal Court
Law firm Hagens Berman filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of lead plaintiff Allen Lee, who is represented by Steve Berman and Elaine Byzszewski.“Have you ever wondered why Ticketmaster has been unable to rid itself of the scalpers who purchase mass quantities of concert or sports tickets from its website and then resell them for much more minutes later?” states the complaint. “The answer: Ticketmaster hasn’t wanted to rid itself of scalpers because, as it turns out, they have been working with them.”
People Can Sign Up for Compensation Online
If you think you bought tickets from one of Ticketmaster’s resale platforms and want to claim compensation, you can find out more information or sign up for free on Hagens Berman’s official website.“Fan-to-fan” sites involved include:
* TicketExchangeByTicketmaster.com * Ticketmaster.com/verified * TicketsNow.com
Two U.S. Senators Demand Classification
Two U.S. senators, Jerry Moran and Richard Blumenthal, who helped pass the BOTS Act to limit using bots to purchase tickets, wrote an open letter to the CEO of Live Nation, Michael Rapino, on Sept. 21. They asked him to clarify the use of Ticketmaster’s resale program, TradeDesk, by Oct. 5.They asked these questions:
* Describe the event ticket purchasing limits that Ticketmaster currently employs for sales on its primary ticket sales platform. Additionally, how does the company identify computer programs used to circumvent these purchasing limits?
* Do Ticketmaster’s ticket purchasing limits and associated detection practices apply to users of its online program, TradeDesk? If not, please explain.
* What are the specific rules and processes of compliance for participating TradeDesk users as it relates to ticket purchasing limits and other relevant consumer protection priorities? Please share any documents and guidance materials that are provided to TradeDesk users.
* What role does Ticketmaster’s Professional Reseller Handbook play in deterring its resellers from engaging in illegal ticket purchasing activities?
Ticketmaster was bought by Live Nation in 2010, and it brought in $10.3 billion in revenue last year by selling concerts, sports, theater shows, and other events tickets. Resale tickets account for a $5 billion industry, the complaint states.
