SCHAER, DeANGELO TO ASK AG TO DETERMINE WHETHER JILTED SPRINGSTEEN FANS HAVE ALLY IN STATE LAW

SCHAER, DeANGELO TO ASK AG TO DETERMINE WHETHER
JILTED SPRINGSTEEN FANS HAVE ALLY IN STATE LAW
Lawmakers to Ask Whether State's Consumer Fraud Act Applies

(TRENTON) - Assemblymen Gary Schaer and Wayne DeAngelo today said they will ask the state Attorney General to determine whether New Jersey consumers blocked from purchasing tickets for this spring's Bruce Springsteen concerts at the Meadowlands can seek refunds under the state's Consumer Fraud Act.

According to news reports, some fans who logged-on to Ticketmaster's web site to purchase seats for the concert at the Izod Center encountered an error message when they attempted to pay for their tickets, then were redirected to a Ticketmaster-related resale site - TicketsNow.com - where the same tickets could be purchased for a considerable mark-up.

Ticketmaster earns a 15 percent commission on sales made through TicketsNow.

The lawmakers noted state consumer protection law - considered one of the nation's toughest - contains direct language expressly prohibiting bait-and-switch schemes and affords consumers the right to seek a full refund.

"Something is amiss when fans who encounter a problem purchasing tickets aren't kicked back to a previous screen or given a phone number for Ticketmaster's customer help, but rather automatically directed to a company-affiliated site that will gladly sell them the seats for considerably more money," said Schaer (D-Passaic/Essex/Bergen). "This arrangement doesn't pass the smell test."

"Ticketmaster is no stranger to selling tickets for popular shows and fans accept the fact that they may not be able to get the tickets they want," said DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex). "But fans have every right to be utterly suspicious when Ticketmaster's first reflex is to sidetrack them to a resale site with higher prices and steep commissions."

Schaer and DeAngelo said diverting ticket buyers to an aftermarket site cheats consumers and artists.  In an interview with Rolling Stone, a Ticketmaster spokesman conceded the fiasco was "not our finest hour," yet offered no apology to affected would-be concertgoers or to Bruce Springsteen.

On the Net:

www.assemblydems.com

www.youtube.com/user/njassemblydems

New Jersey Assembly Democrats on Facebook