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NEWARK – Two New Jersey-based
ticket brokers sued by the Office of the Attorney
General in May after allegedly offering concert
tickets for sale before the tickets were available
to the general public have agreed to revise
their business practices and to pay $5,000
each to settle the suits.
Almost Backstage Inc., of
Vauxhall, N.J., which does business as abtickets.com
and Ticket Town, Inc., of Fort Lee, which
does business as northeasttickets.com, each
agreed to not offer for sale, sell or advertise
for purchase any concert ticket prior to the
initial on-sale date. Each defendant also
agreed to not offer tickets prior to obtaining
ownership, custody and control of the tickets
or obtaining a contractual right to the tickets.
“We want to end the
fraud committed against the public through
the offering of phantom tickets,” Attorney
General Anne Milgram said. “Our message
to the ticket resale industry is very clear
– it is fraud to sell something that
you don’t have and may never have, while
giving the public the impression that these
tickets are yours to sell.”
Both defendants did not admit
to any violations in reaching settlements
with the Office of the Attorney General and
its Division of Consumer Affairs. Each company
will pay $5,000 to the state, in addition
to complying with the state’s Consumer
Fraud Act.
As alleged in the Attorney
General’s Complaints, Almost Backstage
and Ticket Town advertised and sold purported
tickets to Bruce Springsteen’s September
and October concerts at Giants Stadium before
any tickets were available to the public.
Many of the advertised tickets were identified
by specific section and row number at prices
far in excess of face value, varying between
$317 and $575.
“We continue our efforts
to produce a level-playing field for consumers
who expect, and are entitled to, an equal
opportunity to purchase tickets when seats
initially go on sale,” said David Szuchman,
Consumer Affairs Director. “We will
take legal action against those ticket sellers
who don’t voluntarily stop their deceptions
and false promises.”
Three additional lawsuits
filed in May against other ticket sellers
remain active. The lawsuits were filed against
Select-A-Ticket, Inc., of Riverdale, N.J.;
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., which does business
as cheaptickets.com, of Chicago; and TicketNetwork,
Inc. in Connecticut. Orbitz and TicketNetwork
are believed to be partners in a joint venture
to advertise and resell tickets to events
in New Jersey.
Assistant Attorney General
James J. Savage and Deputy Attorney General
David M. Puteska represented the state in
these settlements. The Complaints were filed
in State Superior Court in Essex County.
These lawsuits are part of
the Attorney General’s continuing initiative
in policing consumer fraud in the concert
ticket industry. The Office of the Attorney
General and the Division of Consumer Affairs
in February reached an agreement with Ticketmaster
regarding tickets being offered for sale on
the company’s TicketsNow resale site
following an investigation into the availability
of tickets to Springsteen concerts held in
May at the Izod Center in East Rutherford.
The company agreed to change its business
practices under terms of the settlement, agreeing
not to allow ticket resales on its TicketsNow
site before tickets go on sale on its Ticketmaster
site.
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