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Watch out! Don't get tripped by ticket tricks [Asbury Park Press, N.J. :: ](Asbury Park Press (NJ) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 27--Buying a ticket to watch your favorite football team or hear a top pop star sure is harder these days. It's no longer about just standing in line, getting on the phone or logging in to get a ticket. Now you have to worry about things like paperless tickets, misleading websites and getting scammed on Craiglist. "Like so many things, how consumers buy a ticket is changing," said John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League. Toms River man doesn't want to pay for utility pole: See more Press on Your Side stories here A little over a month ago, TicketNetwork Inc. and its marketing partners, Ryadd Inc. and SecureBoxOffice LLC, settled allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and Connecticut officials that their advertisements and websites mislead consumers into thinking they were buying tickets at face value from a venue, such as Radio City Music Hall. Instead, according to the commission's complaint, the websites were reseller sites with tickets often priced at a markup. The National Consumers League and Consumers League of New Jersey has released a guide to buying live event and sports tickets. Press on Your Side talked with Breyault about it. Consumers should look out for: --Paperless tickets. Instead of receiving a paper ticket, which you can give to a friend or sell to someone else, you'll have show up at the venue with photo identification and the credit card used to buy your seat. The industry says paperless tickets are a weapon against scalpers who use automated software to buy bulk tickets. "You can't sell that ticket or give it away," Breyault said. So forget about giving one of these tickets as a gift. In some cases, you may be able to sell it, but only from the same online ticket vendor, which sets the rules and the prices, that you purchased it from. (For instance, TicketMaster has its own resale site called TicketExchange.) The National Consumers League says to check the fine print to see if the tickets are non-transferable or can't be resold. "They are essentially getting to the point where they are trying to control who gets the tickets," Breyault said. --Deceptive websites. "Many consumers know they can avoid a fee by buying a ticket directly from the box office," Breyault said. But some secondary ticket sellers are creating websites that look as if they are a box office, and include fees and higher prices. --Disreputable sellers. Check the reliability of a ticket seller online. Look to see if they have complaints against them with the Better Business Bureau. Do they have a money back guarantee if there is a problem? Check for the website's consumer protection policy before you pay. If you buy a ticket from an advertisement on a site like Craigslist, or a scalper on the street, you're on your own. "It really is buyer beware," Breyault said. --Price floors. Some websites don't allow sellers to resell a ticket for below face value so check other websites before you think you have the lowest price. --Fees. The ticket price is not what you'll end up paying. When you compare prices, make sure to include any fees that are charged. "This is an industry that has thrived on charging extra for any number of service fees," Breyault said. Do you have a consumer problem that needs solving? Contact David P. Willis at 732-643-4042, pressonyour [email protected] or facebook.com/dpwillis732. ___ (c)2014 the Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) Visit the Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) at www.app.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |