CANTON, Ohio — Cleveland Guardians fans are crossing their fingers, hoping for a playoff run again this year. If it happens, that means fans will flock online to get their tickets, but be careful.
The MLB app just had problems this month with tickets being stolen, and issues with major online ticket brokers have been a focus of the Federal Trade Commission with recent litigation.
A DAD, A DAUGHTER, A CONCERT PROBLEM
We found a father from Canton who said he had a “bad romance” with his Lady Gaga tickets when StubHub’s response was a bit “shallow.”
“Lady Gaga is my daughter’s childhood and teenage idol,” said Chris Newhouser, who spent $2,200 on StubHub for tickets to a Gaga show in Miami, Florida, last month. His daughter Chelsea, was excited.
“It was like elation, over the moon,” Newhouser said about watching Chelsea getting ready for the concert.
However, he said right before the show, the stage-front seats he originally bought were changed to something else.
“That was probably the most important part about picking those specific seats was so she could watch the piano performance,” Newhouser told us. His daughter was then in tears after hearing about the ticket switch-up.
LITTLE INFORMATION FROM STUBHUB
News 5 Investigators asked StubHub for an interview. We never got one. We asked if switching tickets at the last minute was common on its site, and did Newhouser’s seller face any consequences? No answer on that either.
A representative did say Newhouser was offered other tickets that “were as good, if not better.” That’s something that’s stated in its FanProtect Guarantee.
“Did they find you comparable or better tickets?” we asked Newhouser.
“They did not,” he replied. Newhouser told us the new seats were much further away from the stage.
The StubHub representative also informed us that Newhouser was offered a $300 discount.
“Have you gotten that $300 discount?”
“No…nothing,” he told us.
FTC CRACKING DOWN ON TICKET PROBLEMS
We wanted to know, in general, how often these kinds of ticket problems were happening to customers.
“This issue is a priority for the Commission,” said Chris Mufarrige, who is the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. In May, the FTC enacted a rule about unfair or deceptive fees on tickets.
Just this month, it, along with seven other states, filed suit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, alleging pricing problems, ignoring individual ticket-buying limits and more.
“There’s a tremendous amount of evidence that Ticketmaster knew what was going on, understood that brokers were circumventing their security measures and their ticket limits,” said Mufarrige. “ And (the companies) allowed them to do it because (the companies) were able to make additional profits in the resale market.”
We asked Ticketmaster and Live Nation multiple times to comment on the suit. We got no response.
Meanwhile, for StubHub, it gets an F-rating from the Better Business Bureau and has faced multiple lawsuits recently alleging pricing issues.
Newhouser said he just wanted to warn you of what happened to him.
“Bring some awareness so the next father that decides to take his daughter on a special trip doesn’t end up in the same disappointing situation where we ended,” said Newhouser.
You can report your ticket complaints through the FTC’s website, the Ohio Attorney General’s site or places like the BBB or Cuyahoga County Scam Squad.
