Taylor Swift Fans Flooded FTC WIth Complaints Against Ticketmaster
Taylor Swift fans encountered some issues when attempting to nab tickets for her The Eras Tour. More specifically, many fans weren't able to score tickets to the show thanks to Ticketmaster. Now, as The Daily Dot reported, they're taking serious action against the company.
Fans experienced issues in purchasing tickets for Swift's The Eras Tour almost immediately. A good portion of those fans signed up for verified fan presale in order to try to buy tickets before they went on sale to the general public. However, even if they had a presale code, some fans were unable to purchase tickets. Additionally, many more found out that when it was time for tickets to go on sale for the general public, there simply weren't any left. Due to all of these issues, fans began to file complaints directly with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to The Daily Dot, fans as young as 13 and as old as 64 filed complaints so that the organization could investigate Ticketmaster.
"The monopolizing, scamming entity that is known as Ticketmaster needs to be thoroughly looked into. My experience specifically involves what happened to millions of other fans trying to purchase Taylor Swift tickets," a fan from Texas complained. "Ticketmaster is the worst. Fans of any artist deserve a better service that doesn't assault us with ridiculous fees and dynamic pricing." In other complaints, fans lamented the fact that they missed out on tickets but affiliate sites were selling them for well over the original prices.
A fan from California wrote, "I received a presale code for Taylor Swift concert tickets that put me 2000th in line for two stadium venues in California totaling 487,000 seats. When I got to the front of the queue, there were no tickets left. But there were already tickets being sold on Ticketmaster affiliate sites for 10 times the prices set by Taylor." The publication also pointed out that some individuals were scammed as a result of the messy situation. A fan from New Jersey said that they spent $2,220 in gift cards after calling a number that they thought was associated with Ticketmaster's customer service. But, they soon learned that the whole thing was a scam.
In response to these issues, the Justice Department has pledged to investigate the situation. There is also a lawsuit underway from 250 plaintiffs and counting. Attorney Jennifer Kinder, whose firm is representing the plaintiffs, said that this is a "consumer rights issue." She continued, "Because we're all consumers, we all need to be paying attention. Monopolistic behavior in every single form, when it affects consumers, needs to be on the radar for every consumer because it affects every purchase that we make." Kinder's clients are not being asked to foot the bill for this lawsuit, as she said, "It's about change. If there's no change, then there's no reason for us to be pursuing this."