I got scammed

My DH and I were outside last weekend having a cookout and I heard on the radio that Trans-Syberian Orchestra tickets were on sale. My DH had already tried to get tickets for my birthday in September, but the concert was cancelled. I ran to the computer and stupidly purchased tickets on a site I don't know. I have no idea why I didn't go directly to the concert location or Ticketmaster. I guess I was just excited and wanted to make the purshase ASAP to ensure good seats. Silly me.

My tickets came in the mail. I paid $93 each plus fees and shipping. The price printed on the tickets are $49.5 each. The purchaser's name, printed on the ticket is Dan Silverman. I don't know him.

Did I read the policy? Ummm... not really. I skimmed it. It did say that the ticket price may be higher that what was printed. I thought they were referring to the fee of $28.83 per ticket. Nope. That's extra.

I called the 1-800 number. Of course the first thing I was asked was if I read the policy. Even if I knew that the price may be higher --- I wouldn't expect it to be almost twice as much!

The ticket vendor buys blocks of tickets and resells them. That's why someone else's name is on them. What I'm really concerned about is, what would stop them from selling the same seats to several people?

I put in a dispute request with my credit card company, which should take about 30 days to resolve. I really don't think they can help though.

Anyway, please don't post any warnings about why I should be more careful blah, blah, blah. I know. I hope my post prevents others from falling for the same scam though.

That's really too bad. Thanks for the warning, though!

Originally Posted by Rockcat

My DH and I were outside last weekend having a cookout and I heard on the radio that Trans-Syberian Orchestra tickets were on sale. My DH had already tried to get tickets for my birthday in September, but the concert was cancelled. I ran to the computer and stupidly purchased tickets on a site I don't know. I have no idea why I didn't go directly to the concert location or Ticketmaster. I guess I was just excited and wanted to make the purshase ASAP to ensure good seats. Silly me.

My tickets came in the mail. I paid $93 each plus fees and shipping. The price printed on the tickets are $49.5 each. The purchaser's name, printed on the ticket is Dan Silverman. I don't know him.

Did I read the policy? Ummm... not really. I skimmed it. It did say that the ticket price may be higher that what was printed. I thought they were referring to the fee of $28.83 per ticket. Nope. That's extra.

I called the 1-800 number. Of course the first thing I was asked was if I read the policy. Even if I knew that the price may be higher --- I wouldn't expect it to be almost twice as much!

The ticket vendor buys blocks of tickets and resells them. That's why someone else's name is on them. What I'm really concerned about is, what would stop them from selling the same seats to several people?

I put in a dispute request with my credit card company, which should take about 30 days to resolve. I really don't think they can help though.

Anyway, please don't post any warnings about why I should be more careful blah, blah, blah. I know. I hope my post prevents others from falling for the same scam though.

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I would check in to that 30 day thing. When I worked in a bank there was a certain amount of days, 10 I believe, that the dispute had to be finalized. If not, provisional credit was extended.

Oh, I'm so sorry. This may be a stupid question, but since this person/company has your credit card number, will you need to cancel your card and get one with a different number?

That's one seriously crappy credit card company.

I've made three dispute claims, one with USAA, one with Chase, and one with Barclay and was always credited instantly over the phone and told that they will investigate and if I don't get a call back then all is well and done.

I've (knowingly) paid more than the original selling price for concert tickets if the concert was one that I really wanted to go to and the tickets were sold out on the official website. I've also sold tickets to concerts that I changed my mind about and gotten more for them than they originally cost. Maybe the tickets that you bought are, in fact, valid. If so, go and have a good time! Even if you paid a little more than what they were worth, you can still have a fun evening and make memories with your DH. I hope everything works out for you.

But it's not really credit card fraud. . .you agreed to pay that much. You evidently thought it to be a reasonable price at the time. And it is typical for resellers to charge about double (and sometimes it's the only way to get tickets). Unless the tickets are forgeries, he can't sell the same seat to anybody else, so that shouldn't be a worry. I hope the CC company will be nice and help you out with this, but it really isn't fraud.

Originally Posted by zohdee

I would check in to that 30 day thing. When I worked in a bank there was a certain amount of days, 10 I believe, that the dispute had to be finalized. If not, provisional credit was extended.

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Originally Posted by Ducman69

That's one seriously crappy credit card company.

I've made three dispute claims, one with USAA, one with Chase, and one with Barclay and was always credited instantly over the phone and told that they will investigate and if I don't get a call back then all is well and done.
I've made three dispute claims, one with USAA, one with Chase, and one with Barclay and was always credited instantly over the phone and told that they will investigate and if I don't get a call back then all is well and done.

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Thanks. I have nevet had a dispute before. Discover is temporarily refunding my money until it's investigated. I don't consider that getting my money back. The Discover rep didn't seem to think I had much of a case.

Originally Posted by nurseangel

Oh, I'm so sorry. This may be a stupid question, but since this person/company has your credit card number, will you need to cancel your card and get one with a different number?

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Good point and I was considering that too, but they have had the credit card number for a week and my tickets were the last purchase made, so I don't think so. Also, I looked up the company on several sites and although my complaint is common with them, no one has accused them of stealing the card info.

Originally Posted by Going Nova

I've (knowingly) paid more than the original selling price for concert tickets if the concert was one that I really wanted to go to and the tickets were sold out on the official website. I've also sold tickets to concerts that I changed my mind about and gotten more for them than they originally cost. Maybe the tickets that you bought are, in fact, valid. If so, go and have a good time! Even if you paid a little more than what they were worth, you can still have a fun evening and make memories with your DH. I hope everything works out for you.

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That's not really the case here though. Ticketmaster had plenty of tickets left. I checked when I received mine.

As far as going and having a good time anyway - If I lose the dispute I certianly will. If I win the dispute, good tickets will probably not be available, but I will have my $258.66 and buy every album I don't already have.

Originally Posted by Willowy

But it's not really credit card fraud. . .you agreed to pay that much. You evidently thought it to be a reasonable price at the time. And it is typical for resellers to charge about double (and sometimes it's the only way to get tickets). Unless the tickets are forgeries, he can't sell the same seat to anybody else, so that shouldn't be a worry. I hope the CC company will be nice and help you out with this, but it really isn't fraud.

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I agree it's not fraud. It is a scam though. That's why I don't think I will win. Yes and no that I evidently thought it was a reasonable price at the time. This is the first major concert I purchased tickets for since Rush (around 1985). I didn't know the going rate. I did see the "Happy Together" tour this year, at a local theater. I figured that would be quite a bit less expensive than TSO. I really wanted to see this concert and I really wanted good seats --- which I have never had before. I've always only been able to afford the nosebleed section. This time I rationalized to myself that it was my Christmas present from my husband.

I had no idea that it was typical for resellers to charge so much. As far as forgeries, that would be easy. My ticket is black ink only and looks like it is printed from a computer. I printed my Happy Together tickets from my computer, so I figured this was probably legitimate, but I won't know that until we get there.

Originally Posted by Rockcat

I had no idea that it was typical for resellers to charge so much. As far as forgeries, that would be easy. My ticket is black ink only and looks like it is printed from a computer. I printed my Happy Together tickets from my computer, so I figured this was probably legitimate, but I won't know that until we get there.

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One of my friends scalps tickets A LOT. It really makes me angry, because those are tickets that someone that really wanted to go could have had, and they might not be able to afford scalper prices. It is definitely common to charge AT LEAST double, in some cases triple or more, depending the band/event. On the other hand, if you go to the venue the night of the show and buy from a scalper shortly after the event has started, you can usually get the tickets cheaper than face value. A friend of mine and I went to Bluesfest in Ottawa one year for three days, each day we paid between $5-10 for tickets that are normally ~$30.

To check and see if the tickets are valid, you can call the venue and have them check for you. They should be able to advise you either way.

Originally Posted by nerdrock

To check and see if the tickets are valid, you can call the venue and have them check for you. They should be able to advise you either way.

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Thank you, but how can they tell? If it is legit to print from the computer, what would stop them from printing additional copies and selling them too?

I don't know if they'll be able to tell you how many copies were printed, but it will at least give them a heads up as to what's going on. In many places it is illegal to resell tickets for higher than the face value, it doesn't stop many people, but if they're caught their name and credit card number (for tickets that are printable) are right there.

At the very least, you could make sure you're one of the first ones there so that your ticket is scanned/taken first.

They may also be able to advise you on what you can do.

Originally Posted by nerdrock

I don't know if they'll be able to tell you how many copies were printed, but it will at least give them a heads up as to what's going on. In many places it is illegal to resell tickets for higher than the face value, it doesn't stop many people, but if they're caught their name and credit card number (for tickets that are printable) are right there.

At the very least, you could make sure you're one of the first ones there so that your ticket is scanned/taken first.

They may also be able to advise you on what you can do.

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Ok, thanks. I'll take all the help I can get.

The fine print on the ticket reads something like - in the event that there is a conflict over seats, the theater reserves the right to refuse admittance to all parties and will refund the ticket price to the purchaser. The "purchaser" is Dan Silverman.