Billy Beane-backed RedBall raised US$575 million in 2020 with the intention of acquiring a business in the sports, media and analytics sectors and agreed a deal with SeatGeek He also helps lead audience engagement initiatives around Reveals stories and assists local reporters in elevating their work to a national platform. Pender instructed his brother to purchase them on the spot. Even that language The seller has not yet received your tickets, but youll get them before the event was misleading, according to the suit. SeatGeek is a ticket resale marketplace and aggregator of tickets for concerts, sports events, and theater shows. Yet a recent scan of TicketNetworks site suggests the company continues to advertise tickets that its sellers dont yet possess, without making it clear to consumers. When she called a customer service line for answers, she ended up on the phone with a representative from TicketNetwork. And in 2016, StubHub announced a partnership with the Philadelphia 76ers that combined primary and secondary inventory in one place. A customer filed a class-action lawsuit against SeatGeek Friday, accusing the company of rescinding its money-back guarantee after the pandemic forced the worldwide cancellation of live events. Its true in every marketplace.. His beloved Buffalo Bills had a chance to do something they hadnt done in 17 bedraggled, mismanaged years: clinch a playoff berth. About this app. Our reporter(s) must be bylined. Scroll down and click on Chargeback Instantly. If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here: mailing a copy of your Ripoff Report to your Attorney General immediately. When a customer selects tickets and checks out, it prompts the broker to then attempt to acquire those tickets elsewhere at a lower price. So are clever ticket sellers who cash in on unsuspecting customers. A lawsuit against TicketNetwork, filed by then-New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood in 2018, detailed the scope of speculative selling on its platform. The story was leaked last week, with Bloomberg . Once there, she selected two $150 seats and began the checkout process. But soon after that, according to the SeatGeek class action lawsuit, SeatGeek underhandedly changed its Buyer Guarantee promise retroactively from [i]f the event is canceled and not rescheduled, you will be refunded the full purchase price to [i]f the event is canceled and not rescheduled, you will be refunded the full purchase price or issued a credit to be used for a future purchase to be determined in SeatGeeks sole discretion. The way these systems are set up, you make a decision about what ticket you want to buy based on the initial information, and its a few steps down before you realize how much the ticket actually costs, said Anna Laitin, director of financial fairness and legislative strategy at Consumer Reports. SeatGeek is entitled, except to the extent prohibited by applicable law, to disclose any information or materials on or in SeatGeek Properties in SeatGeek's possession in connection with your use of SeatGeek Properties, to (1) comply with applicable laws, legal process or governmental request; (2) enforce the Terms, (3) respond to your . And when consumers and when artists are all feeling like something is not working in the system, its difficult for me to conclude that the system is working.. The company, the suit says, has refused to return his money. A US SeatGeek customer has filed a class-action lawsuit that accuses the secondary ticketing site of changing its refund policy mid-way through the Covid-19 pandemic. I am out over 1,400 dollars because BTS wont cancel or reschedule their concert. Lost your password? Get it in your inbox. The FTC, she added, had 50% more full-time staff under the Reagan administration than it has today. The suit, which alleges that SeatGeek rescinded its money-back guarantee amid the widespread cancellation of live events, comes three weeks after similar legal action was initiated against ticket-resale rival StubHub, which is also offering credit instead of cash refunds for cancelled or postponed events. Next to this language was a question mark. Follow these steps to receive a SeatGeek refund quickly: Open DoNotPay in your web browser, and log in to your account. Then brokers fulfill their speculative sales by buying directly from venues like Granthams at cost often not until a consumer has already purchased the tickets at a premium. Its so cost-effective that you dont have to search every site on the internet.. Estimated amount consumers saved since 1997: $15,590,010,907. Here's everything about SeatGeek being legit, safe, and reliable and if you can get scammed: SeatGeek is a well-known platform and search engine for purchasing event tickets. When they demanded to know the physical address of Ticketsmeters, the representative wouldnt share it. A Settlement totaling $29,999,999.99 has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Allergan about the price that consumers and third-party payors paid for Restasis. Following backlash from fans and a scathing letter from U.S. representatives, Live Nation updated its refund policy. IQs news, features, information and analysis is read by 100,000 professionals worldwide each month. Top illustration by Maxwell Erwin. TicketNetwork has also landed in hot water for other consumer practices. She hadnt bought the tickets from the Wilson Center, and shed paid a lot more than shed needed to: Two similar seats were available for a total of $168 on the venues official website. You refresh your browser as the seconds tick down to a team or artists official sale time. (For example, yesterday can be changed to last week, and Portland, Ore. to Portland or here.). Copyright 1997-2023, Ripoff Report. You will receive mail with link to set new password. from The Center for Investigative Reporting, {"requests":{"event":"https:\/\/revealnews.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/newspack-popups\/includes\/..\/api\/campaigns\/index.php"},"triggers":{"trackPageview":{"on":"visible","request":"event","visibilitySpec":{"selector":"#c773","visiblePercentageMin":50,"totalTimeMin":250,"continuousTimeMin":100},"extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_171634","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)"}}}} This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_4" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement Scores were hit with hidden fees that doubled or tripled the prices theyd seen initially advertised. Im like, just buy them. I felt totally cheated.. My brothers were trying to do it. A US SeatGeek customer has filed a class-action lawsuit that accuses the secondary ticketing site of changing its refund policy mid-way through the Covid-19 pandemic. Whoops! SeatGeek on Twitter: "What happens to your ticket if an event has been . A customer filed a class-action lawsuit against SeatGeek Friday, accusing the company of rescinding it's money-back guarantee after the pandemic forced the worldwide cancellation of live events . Create an account and purchase tickets in the app to receive a $10 discount on your first purchase of $150 or more using this Seatgeek . All rights reserved. Please credit us early in the coverage. Ticketmaster, the official seller for the United Center in Chicago, had announced that listings for a Jan. 24, 2022, show wouldnt go on sale until four days later: Feb. 8. DONATE NOW! According to a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office, secondary market sites that didnt impersonate venues had a markup of roughly 74% over the venues original ticket price. Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Near the dawn of the Enlightenment era, members of Englands upper class would send servants to hold their seats for hours before plays began. Yeah, lets go.. Trader is represented by Nicholas A. Coulson and Steven D. Liddle of Liddle & Dubin PC. I filed against them in Civil Court City of New York. Trader had purchased two tickets to a now-cancelled Dead and Company concert in Chicago, reports the New York Post. Ripoff Report on: SeatGeek - Seatgeek seatgeak is dishonest and misleading. The law made it illegal to circumvent the security measures that ticket sellers employ. She spent $319.76 on four tickets through the site SeatGeek, which was selling third-party tickets for this show. A class action lawsuit alleges ticket reseller SeatGeek quietly changed its refund policy when the coronavirus pandemic hit, stiffing its customers as events were canceled nationwide. You cant republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually. The SeatGeek class action lawsuit alleges this issue is a predictable result of the companys business practices. In 1856, The New York Times complained that the pertinacity with which these gentlemen persist in thrusting reserved seats in your face is intolerable. Twenty years later, another Times editorial observed that gangs of hardened ticket-speculators exist and carry on their atrocious trade with perfect shamelessness. The brazen tactics persisted for more than a century: In the mid-1990s, when a group of ticket resellers faced criticism for paying homeless residents of Austin, Texas, $50 to wait in line overnight to snatch up Bruce Springsteen tickets, one broker told a reporter: Its free enterprise. For those who wish to listen to the call, please dial 1-877-705 . He was part of Reveals Behind the Smiles project team, which was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2019. Further along in the transaction, the sites payment step included another HURRY! timer, this one set for 10 minutes, as well as a disclosure revealing that tickets would be delivered by Jan. 23, 2022 nearly a year from the date I was checking out. If you want to run a photo apart from that story, please request specific permission to license by contacting Digital Engagement Producer Sarah Mirk,smirk@revealnews.org. Please reload the page and try again. Currently, SeatGeek has an B rating with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), as of August 2022, with a 3.08 out of 5-star rating from 239 reviews. He reportedly tried to receive a refund, but SeatGeek denied to refund his money. Emeryville, CA 94662 In the documents, fans again and again described encountering the very practices that enforcement agencies had sought to snuff out. Another ticketing company is going public, as SeatGeek and RedBall Acquisition Corp confirmed rumors that they were working on a deal, announcing plans to merge. The company has a valuation of $1 billion, according to the release. SeatGeek as an app and platform to buy tickets is decent, except the fees are pretty damn high. Patients made into prostitutes and sex slaves, bilking insurance companies out of millions, Sac_County Iowa Prosecutor Ben Smith pays $750,000 to settle Ripoff Report 1983 civil rights lawsuit.. Federal Judge stops prosecutors abuse of power against ED Magedson Founder of Ripoff Report. .newspack-inline-popup .end-of-article-prompt{border:3px solid #0093ff;padding:1em;}. This is a marketplace where its very easy to confuse consumers and give them bad information., In February 2020, leaders in the secondary ticket market were called before Congress to explain their fees. A twist of shock, then frustration, washed over the prospective buyers. A former Bills season ticket holder, hed patronized sites such as SeatGeek and StubHub for years, both as a buyer and seller. Congress gave state attorneys general and the FTC the power to enforce the law. To inquire about syndication or licensing opportunities, please contact Sarah Mirk,smirk@revealnews.org. Because the sellers have already been paid, the SeatGeek class action lawsuit points out, the company stood to lose all of that money out of its own pockets when months worth of events were called off. Top Class Actions is a legal news source Vaccaro, the TicketNetwork CEO, told Congress last February that his company periodically audits its clients websites to ensure that theyre abiding by the FTCs consent decree. Reveal often uses photos we purchase from Getty and The Associated Press; those are not available for republication. Please donate today. Best wishes, SeatGeek CX Team. Log in The SeatGeek class action lawsuit alleges this issue is a predictable result of the company's business practices. Want more Reveal? The Bills needed a victory against the Miami Dolphins. The disclosure conveys to consumers that the ticket seller has secured the advertised tickets but does not yet possess them, the lawsuit said. Include all links from the story, and please link to us at https://www.revealnews.org. SeatGeek Stadium, formerly Toyota Park, in Bridgeview is the home of the Fire and the Red Stars soccer teams. The secondary ticketing site SeatGeek was hit with a class-action lawsuit over the weekend regarding its refund policy. Email us at hi@seatgeek.com. A customer filed the suit Friday, accusing the company of rescinding its money-back guarantee following widespread cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, The New York Post reports. Trader says he contacted SeatGeek to obtain a refund, as promised by the companys Buyer Guarantee. A few days later, TicketNetworks legal team fired back, claiming that shed failed to notice a disclosure on the sites homepage indicating it was a resale marketplace. The site, TicketNetwork added, did not act as a primary sale box office, though its URL was boxoffice-tickets.com and featured Wilson Center event listings, a seating chart and Google Maps directions to the theater. Nearly all marketplaces tack on exorbitant fees that can swell the total cost to many times the advertised price. These different policies that are towards the customers . Defendant has sought to surreptitiously shift its losses onto its innocent customers. Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the However, if that section has no tickets available rather than simply stating "no tickets available". But, what I'm reviewing . With 53 seconds left on the clock, they scored a game-winning touchdown on a hectic fourth-and-12 bullet pass. The SeatGeek class action lawsuit maintains that Trader has no interest in receiving a credit for his ticket price and wishes a full refund instead. A program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business. that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, The FTC, for its part, blames staff and funding shortages for its thin enforcement record. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. He manages Reveals Reporting Networks, which provide more than 1,000 local journalists across the U.S. with resources and training to continue Reveal investigations in their communities. status of any class action settlement claim. Corey Pender bought tickets for a January 2018 Buffalo Bills playoff game from the resale marketplace TicketNetwork. As a nonprofit newsroom, we want to share our work with as many people as possible. The Judge overseeing this case is KINSEY, PAT. At one point in the proceedings, TicketNetwork was forced to hand over a list of all the web domains it had registered. Thanks for your interest in republishing a story from Reveal. Are we going to Jacksonville? he mouthed silently as the father of the bride took the mic. The number of them the company has blocked from its site has tripled since 2016, Amy Howe, then Ticketmasters COO, said in congressional testimony last February. This story was edited by Andrew Donohue and Esther Kaplan and copy edited by Nikki Frick. Click Change Settings if you want to tailor the use of your cookies. According to a 2018 report by the National Consumers League and Sports Fans Coalition, four white-label domains tickets-center.com, box-officetickets.com, ticketoffices.com and onlinecitytickets.com accounted for roughly two-thirds of Vivid Seats web traffic. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Grantham said she knows this personally because shes observed brokers on StubHub advertising Wilson Center tickets she still had in her inventory: On Granthams own seating chart, the price to one event was $49.43; StubHubs, meanwhile, was $88. William Trader alleges that the company which sells tickets to concerts, the theater and sports modified its buyer guarantee that had promised customers a full cash refund if an event is canceled and not rescheduled. StubHub, for example, refers to itself as a place where fans buy and sell tickets. Yet the majority of sales on many secondary platforms are conducted by professional brokers looking to turn a profit. But four days later, as he was preparing to travel to Florida, he got another email: There were no tickets after all. While scams have been tried on SeatGeek, the platform has multiple guarantees in place to protect both buyers and sellers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_5" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); @2023 Top Class Actions. Why?!?! If we send you a request to remove our content from your website, you must agree to do so immediately. "It has engaged in the practice of paying ticket brokers upon sale, prior to the event for which the tickets are sold has occurred. But on TicketNetworks site, hundreds of seats were already available on a color-coded seating map. Click Accept if you consent. |. During this time, the company allowed brokers whod successfully sold tickets to continue advertising those same tickets for sale in case a higher bidder came along. Ticketmaster says it continues to get overrun by bots. SeatGeek didnt immediately return a request for comment. expected to be mailed out. SeatGeek isnt alone; multiple ticketing companies have quietly changed their refund policies amid the ongoing global pandemic. The secondary ticketing site SeatGeek was hit with a class-action lawsuit over the weekend regarding its refund policy.. A customer filed the suit Friday, accusing the company of rescinding its money-back guarantee following widespread cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, The New York Post reports. This is a good option to get attention publicly. In 2010, following a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its affiliates, the Federal Trade Commission warned resellers that failing to clearly disclose listings as speculative may violate the law. 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