Ticketmaster has reached an agreement with the state of New Jersey about how it handles online ticket sales after complaints from users about how it redirected them to its reseller site TicketsNow and charged them up to 50 times the face value for Bruce Springsteen tickets.
Anne Milgram
NJ Attorney General
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said that more than two thousand complaints were filed by consumers with the State Division of Consumer Affairs this month in connection with online sales of tickets to Springsteen concerts.
“Everyone deserves an equal chance to buy tickets on a primary ticket selling website and shouldn’t be steered to a re-selling website where the prices can be substantially higher,” said Attorney General Milgram.
Under terms of the settlement, Ticketmaster must put up a virtual wall between it and its ticket re-selling subsidiary TicketsNow. Ticketmaster has agreed that all tickets it sells to the public will be sold on its primary website.
Ticketmaster also agreed not to allow the sale of any tickets on its TicketsNow re-selling website until initial sales begin on its primary website.
The settlement creates a random drawing for 1,000 people who will be allowed to purchase two tickets for Springsteen concerts in New Jersey in May. In addition, people who filed complaints but are not chosen in the random drawing for the chance to buy tickets will receive a $100 gift certificate from Ticketmaster and the chance to purchase two tickets to a future Springsteen concert in New Jersey.
People who purchased more expensive tickets at TicketsNow will receive a refund from Ticketmaster that will make up the difference between the purchase price and the face value of the tickets.
