NORFOLK, Va. — It's concert season and when you're excited about seeing your favorite artist, you may overlook some important details, which could cost you time and money.
With Something in the Water starting on Friday, and other festivals ahead, News 3 Anchor and Problem Solver Erin Miller wanted to make sure you’re not caught in ticket trouble.
“The secondary ticket market is really like the wild west,” said Eric Schneiderman, the former Attorney General of New York.
Over the past year, or so, News 3 has heard from viewers who have had their tickets stolen and also lost out to ticket bots. Ticket bots are the modern-day form of scalping and make it difficult for people to find tickets online at a reasonable price.
“I felt foolish absolutely ridiculous for spending that much money. I'm not going to do it again,” said Shari DiPaola.
Unfortunately, it can be easy to fall for fake ticket scams when you are excited about an upcoming event.
That’s why the Better Business Bureau has a few ways you can protect yourself when using an online reseller:
- Look for ticket resellers that protect buyers
- Buying from a reseller that also sells primary tickets adds a layer of protection
- Review the policies before making a purchase
- Buy tickets with a credit card
“Your safest move is to buy a resale ticket from a company that already sells the primary ticket,” said Herb Weisbaum with Consumers’ Checkbook.
Also, make sure that you're on the correct website, not a look-alike. Weisbaum said don't click on an ad within a webpage or email, rather type the URL manually.
“If the site is unfamiliar, you want to check them out with the Better Business Bureau [or] the National Association of Ticket Brokers,” he said.
However, even if you buy from the source, like Ticketmaster, you still have to be cautious.
As News 3 has reported, after high prices and long wait times, Congress is looking into whether the company has too much influence on the music industry.
So as you're buying tickets, just know what's on the table so you're not taken advantage of.
The Federal Trade Commission is also taking action for consumers. The commission has proposed a rule that would crack down on business impersonators and allow the FTC to recover money from anyone who violates.
The FTC has also taken legal action, suing ticket brokers who used software to illegally buy up thousands of tickets and resold them to fans at higher prices.
