Looking for tickets? Avoid this online broker

Schmitz wanted to see her all-time favorite band, The Cure, at Allstate Arena. Her e-mail confirmation said the tickets would ship a few weeks before the event. But they never came.

She disputed the charge with American Express and got the $364 credited to her account. Normally, that would be the end of the story, but not with this company.

This summer Schmitz received what appeared to be legal papers from Event Tickets. They wanted her to pay $364 for the tickets she never received, a $125 termination fee, plus a penalty fee of $72.

An e-mail from Andrew Sims said: “Your account is set to be sent to court. Once pursued, you will be required to appear in court here in Clark County, Nevada. Prior to taking this action, we are offering you a final chance to settle this matter for $125.”

The e-mail “just freaked me out,” Schmitz recalled. So she agreed to pay the $125. “I really got screwed here,” she said.

And she’s not the only one. The BBB says it has numerous complaints from people who disputed a charge with their credit card company and Event Tickets threatened to take them to court or send them to collection.

Like many online ticket brokers, TicketsMyWay.com does not make exchanges or accept cancellations, and it rarely offers refunds. But its policy on disputed credit card charges – spelled out in paragraph 19 on the terms and conditions page – is highly unusual.

“If you dispute the charge with your credit card company any time after you place your order, you agree to pay a litigation fee of a minimum of $125 and may be responsible for the entire amount of your order plus any interest and penalty fees associated with the servicing of the account.”

Sims tells me the company does this to protect itself from customers who try to scam them. “We’ve had quite a few cases where people have received tickets, gone to their show, and have tried to get those tickets for free,” he says.

Visa tells me this policy violates its rules that “prohibit the use of language that conveys any limitation of cardholders' rights to dispute a transaction through their card issuers.” Visa says it is investigating this matter and it will take "the appropriate action to ensure the merchant follows Visa rules.”

My two cents
Is this policy legal? I’m not a lawyer. But it’s certainly questionable. It eliminates the entire reason for using a credit card for online purchases – fraud protection and dispute resolution

I am not aware of any other merchant who has such an outrageous policy. The people I spoke to at the major credit card companies were shocked when I told them about this. The bottom line: I would never shop at a company that has this policy.

Finally, I would encourage anyone who believes they’ve been ripped off by TicketsMyWay.com to file a complaint with the Nevada Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission. Do this even if you filed a complaint with the BBB.

Related link

• BBB warns sports fans, concert-goers, and theater buffs: Beware of TicketsMyWay.com

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