Beware Of Scams By Ticket Brokers
Beware Of Scams By Ticket Brokers Save Email Print
Family told Hannah Montana tickets paid for in August don't exist

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Frustration over Hannah Montana concert tickets has been in the news lately, not just here, but across the country. One family who bought tickets two months ago from a broker for her Omaha show never received them, then was told there are no tickets.

Five-year-old Taylor can’t wait to see Hannah Montana in person. "Because she's my favorite singer.”

In August, Taylor's grandmother paid an on-line ticket service $327, more than twice face value for two tickets. "And then we have our seat assignments," says Carla Adams.

With the concert next week, she called National Events Company to ask, where are the tickets?

“He just told me we don't have any tickets for you,” says Carla. “I said you don't understand, I have my receipt. We paid for them, it went on my Master Card. We have tickets. No you don't."

“He said they had so many tickets allotted and because of a computer glitch, they sold them 40 times,” says Taylor’s grandfather Thomas Adams.

The ticket broker declined to give details about Carla's complaint. "She can contact us and she'll be taken care of." Tickets or money? "She'll get whatever's appropriate."

The ticket broker in New York has no ties to Qwest Center ticket sales. Qwest Center officials can only guarantee tickets sold at the box office or through Ticketmaster to get you into the arena. But those purchased somewhere else is a gamble.

"We know there are ticket services out there, scalpers that will put tickets up on the Internet that they don't actually have," says the Qwest Center’s Roger Dixon.

When Hannah Montana fans stood in line for a ticket lottery, the Adams’ thought how fortunate they are for purchasing tickets from a broker months ago. But they don't feel lucky now, even if the scalper gives a refund.

"And we can't go back to a five-year-old and say well, we got our money back,” says Taylor’s mom Carrie Adams Baum. “That doesn't mean anything to her."

"I would be sad if I didn't get to go," says Taylor.

The Adams family says a representative for National Events Company promised they might get two tickets by Friday, but they've been told that numerous buyers had purchased the same seats from the ticket broker.

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Posted by: mae on Jan 2, 2008 at 10:30 AM
that was so messed up, what they did to that family over the hannah motana tickets.who are you suppose to beleive anymore? where do you really go to get tickets?when everybodys out to make a quick buck off of other souls ..... my heart goes out to that lil 5 yr.old's family..that is so messed up.... ..........mae

Posted by: Think on Oct 30, 2007 at 07:37 AM
Think for a moment please how tickets are any different than baseball cards. Or yard sale items. It's resale, and the government has better things to worry about than establishing price ceilings for the secondary ticket market. If you're going to limit how much people pay for the service of a legitimate ticket broker, then you'd better also limit how much we pay for the service of a haircut, or the resale of a baseball card, etc., etc.. Like any industry, there are a few bad apples here. 99% of people using ticket brokers are happy with their experience, yet everyone is wanting laws that have no place in this country. If you don't want to pay $500 for a pair of tickets, don't buy them. And if a single specific broker has done something wrong in obtaining or selling the ticket, hold that particular broker responsible -- not the entire industry. Be careful not to blame everyone for the actions of a few, and ask yourself why ticket price should be limited when nothing else is.

Posted by: Tom McDaniel on Oct 26, 2007 at 10:02 AM
OUR INTELLIGENCE AND GULLIBILITY ARE BEING TESTED WHEN THE TICKET SELLERS/SCALPERS TELL US WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THEIR REALITY SCAM OF JACKING UP PRICES. IF WE DON'T, EVENTS WILL BY-PASS OMAHA! OOOOH NO!! THE SKY IS FALLING AND THE RIVER WILL DRY UP! WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THAT BEFORE? OH YEAH, IN A FAIRY TALE. UNTIL SOMEONE PUTS AN END TO THIS THEY WILL BE LAYING BACK SAYING..." HMMM..MORE GRAVY PLEASE!!!"

Posted by: B on Oct 24, 2007 at 09:07 PM
Seriously? First off Shame on you people for ripping apart a little girl. I understand how she feels. When I was 10 thru 13, I was IN LOVE with the Backstreet Boys. They came to the area a couple of times, and I wanted to go so badly but tickets sold out. It's life. I was upset for about a day then I got over it. I'd have to say Hannah Montana is a fad, just as the Backstreet Boys were. She'll be famous for several years then fall out of the lime light. Seriously, Do you think your children will be a huge fan of Hannah Montana in 5 or 10 years. 99% will be NO. Do your child a favor and save that money that you would have spent to buy 2 300 dollar tickets and take your child to Disney World. Hannah Montana may be the "big" thing now, but they'll always remember a good time at Disney World.

Posted by: Tom on Oct 23, 2007 at 11:00 AM
In all the years that this thievery has gone on,this is the first time I heard of anyone adressing that issue.(results remain to be seen ) I say, follow the money and put their feet to the fire! Where do the tickets originate? Who controls how,when,where and to whom they are sold? Hmmm (simple) This is just the latest white-collar crime driven by greed and fed by our fixation on on idols which, combined, has turned ticket sales into an auction to see how much we will pay. Actually, this is a test of our culture to see where our priorities really are. What would the crooks do if everyone refused to pay more than face value ?! THE EASY SOLUTION: Similar to the lottery, only official designated outlets should sell tickets. NO INTERNET SALES! Its ridiculous when someone jumps through all the hoops of wristbands,standing in line for hours, etc.. and its ALL OVER IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES after sales start! Anyone can see through this! I can't believe this still goes on. Ignorance/stupidity? TOM

Posted by: cruising the site on Oct 20, 2007 at 11:29 PM
sherri, Qwest's ticketing agent is TicketMaster, yeah, they good coin off of the tickets, but they are the only ones to go thru if you want a guaranteed ticket. If you buy a ticket at the Qwest Center box office, you are buying from Ticketmaster. As far as AG Bruning, he won't be doing much about it til after the 23rd, he is probably getting ready to enjoy his seat in one of the suites for the show...

Posted by: A on Oct 18, 2007 at 10:17 PM
If you go to the Qwest Center website you will see that the ticket authority they contract through is Ticket Master which means Ticket Master is not a "scalper". While it would be nice to have more tickets available for local sale at the Qwest Center it is understandable that one company who makes it's business from selling tickets for numerous events would be more organized, secure, and safe than what any one event center would be if it were to do all of the sales on its own. This is not the first time this has happened, I know when Aerosmith went on sale a while back they were gone in an hour also. I think people need to focus on what can be done to prevent this from happening in the future not hammer on the family trying to tell people- "Hey, watch out". I would hope that everybody here wants the same thing- to keep their family happy.

Posted by: Karen on Oct 18, 2007 at 04:28 PM
Regardless of how you feel about brokers and this situation in particular, I really don't think a lot of these harsh words are necessary. These people did not ask for your money and certainly not for your judgemental comments about their parenting style. Disagree if you like, but try to have a little more class. I agree, it's ridiculous to pay outrageous amounts of money to see who you want to see in concert, but until a law is passed forbidding these hiked up prices as mentioned, sometimes it is necessary to pay them to get a decent seat.

Posted by: Terri on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:56 PM
This is for Harold - are you married to Grandma? And yes my kids do donate money and time to causes. In fact this past weekend my 10 year old ran a race for the Make a Wish Foundation. We also are involved in Race for The Cure and she collects pop tops for a charity. Over Christmas we visit nursing homes and sing Christmas carols. We give coats to kids in the winter who can't afford them - get my point Harold! When she came home from school one day and said, "Mom that is crazy how much money they want for tickets, some of my friends are begging their parents to buy tickets, who would want to see her that bad? And my daughter likes Hannah Montana - guess I am raising a pretty smart kid.

Posted by: Where is HE? on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:50 PM
Uh, where is Attorney General Jon Bruning while all this scamming is going on? Isn't he the one to vigoriously prosecute these types of crimes commited against NE citizens? Yeah right. He is too busy with his Senate campaign to worry about crime in Nebraska. Just call and try to make an identity theft report. You will be told to call "your local police department". Seems other states' Attorney Generals address these types of issues. Still waiting, Mr. Bruning.

Posted by: Informed in Omaha on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:46 PM
For those of you referring to these people as "scalpers" and you're blogging - do you even use the internet? Have you ever been to a concert? That is the only way you can get tickets anymore. I feel bad for these people. That sucks! A receipt doesn't mean much anymore.

Posted by: John on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:41 PM
Um Hello? You guys are ripping apart a FIVE YEAR OLD LITTLE GIRL - does that make you feel good or something? Especially those of you with children - you must be really nice people! You are calling her a "future brat" after seeing her talk for about 30 seconds. I just hope she doesn't end up like you! You can get off your soap boxes and leave her grandma alone too. People have spent much much more than that on tickets and if she can afford that for her granddaughter what's it to you? Grow up and remember the rules you learned in kindergargten about how to treat other people!

Posted by: Carrie on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:29 PM
I am the mother of the little girl in question and how can judge my mother for giving her granddaughter a gift or my daughter for being sad? SHE IS FIVE. No one is asking you to shed a tear for my daughter. She will be fine and it is a good lesson to learn it is just unfortunate that it has happened to so many. In addition, it isn't an unknown ticket broker, it is an online auction - just like Ebay - a legitimate business that sells tickets for a lot of events - not just random concerts. We did the story to show people that this is happening - to warn others so that it wouldn't happen to them. My daughter understands that you don't always get what you want and like your daughter Susie, she bought the CD with her allowance as well. Ever taught your child the value of not being judgemental? My daughter understands the value of a dollar and she ALSO knows that if she can't say anything nice about someone she shouldn't say anything at all.

Posted by: AMY on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:05 PM
THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME. BOUGHT 3 TICKETS SEC 114 ROW 20 FROM NATIONAL EVENTS COMPANY. I CALLED AFTER TICKETS DID NOT ARRIVE. I WAS TOLD THEY HAD OVER SOLD THE TICKETS. MY MONEY WAS REFUNDED. WHEN I TOLD MY 8 YEAR OLD WE WOULD NOT BE GOING TO HANNAH MONTANA, SHE SAID TO ME "IT'S OK MOMMY". ITS NICE TO KNOW THAT EVEN AT HER AGE SHE UNDERSTSNDS YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT. I WILL NEVER BE FOOLED AGAIN. THANKS FOR YOUR REPORT.

Posted by: Shari on Oct 18, 2007 at 02:40 PM
I refuse to buy from Ticket Master. I understand paying a "convenience charge" but not PER ticket, perhaps per purchase. Ticket Master is raking in big bucks..they too could be considered a scalper. Buy directly from the box office or Ticket Express, which I believe is linked to the Qwest Center.

Posted by: Dave on Oct 18, 2007 at 02:28 PM
I wouldn't pay more than $50 for a ticket to see ANYBODY.

Posted by: Tim on Oct 18, 2007 at 02:09 PM
Well at this point I think you have two options. 1) Go on Ebay and pay over $500 for two tickets 2) Explain to this child that sometimes in life you just don't get what you want. Why would you go to some strange ticket broker in the first place? When this whole Hannah Montana mess began, didn't WOWT run a whole bunch of stories warning us about these brokers?

Posted by: Susie on Oct 18, 2007 at 01:55 PM
I love my 6 year old daughter more than life itself, but I would never be foolish enough to spend that kind of money on concert tickets! Ever heard of teaching your children the value of a dollar? I did just that and she bought the CD with her allowance.

Posted by: george on Oct 18, 2007 at 01:36 PM
You people that have been scammed, don't forget if you protest a fraud charge on your credit card, you don't have to ever pay it. You will get credit and the credit card company will charge back the scammer's account.

Posted by: Wake up Grandma on Oct 18, 2007 at 01:31 PM
$327 for 2 tickets should have been your 1st clue that this is a scam...it's called a wake-up call. Maybe if there were less people buying over priced tickets sold be these scammers/scalpers then maybe the problem will start to go away. In the meantime, as long as people are greedy enough to shell out 'scalpers prices' for tickets, then there will continue to be scalpers.

Posted by: John on Oct 18, 2007 at 01:30 PM
simple solution,just like five states have implemented allready $5 over face or 10% which ever is greater i guess its too simple for our law makers of today to come up with such a complex scheme?

Posted by: LM on Oct 18, 2007 at 01:29 PM
I feel bad that people have been ripped off, but don't think I'm going to shed a tear because a 5-year old may be disappointed...heaven forbid! Sorry, my heart is just not breaking for her. Oh My God!!! A grandmother may have to disappoint her little 5 year old darling!! Oh No...what will that grandmother do when the little darling doesn't want to be her "friend" any more? Oh dear...a 5 year old can't see her favorite singer...Oh Woe is Me!!! This child may need therapy from enduring this cruelty and hardship!! AHHHHHHHH!!!! Give me a break! The grandmother and the parents that condone spending $327 for a 5 year old to see a concert are idiots! Heaven forbid a parent not spend a ridiculous amount of money on something so stupid just to make a 5 year old happy. Let's see which one throws a tantrum first. Great...another future brat with a sense of entitlement in the making. Give the ticket to the Make a Wish Foundation...those children deserve a $327 concert ticket.

Posted by: T on Oct 18, 2007 at 01:14 PM
Unfortunately it is the power of the almighty dollar. I guess Carla should feel lucky to have had the ca$h to pay that much 'extra' for the tickets in the first place. The sad fact is that it is the people like the ones in this story that keeps allowing this to happen. As long as there are people willing to pay "any" price for tickets, then there will be "scammers" out there looking to take their money. Now to possibly answer Carla's question about what to tell this poor "5 year old" who can't see the concert - try something like "there are a lot of other little girls that are not able to see the concert, we did the best we could to get tickets and it just didn't work out this time. Why don't we "all" go as a family out to do something fun with this $327." Then let Taylor pick where you get to go. To answer your question in advance, YES I do have children - 3 of them. It is good to teach them at an early age that they will not always get their way. Taylor can pull through this.

Posted by: Angel on Oct 18, 2007 at 12:46 PM
I wanted tickets for my daughter who loves Hannah Montana also. I can afford to purchase the tickets at these prices but did not do it on principle. It is because people will purchase tickets from these scalpers at ridiculous prices that they stay in business and no tickets are available through Ticket Master. These scalpers cheat the system and purchase using software that can purchase them so fast that these concerts are sold out in an hour at Ticket Master. If we won’t buy from the scalpers they will no longer have the financial ability to do this. Buy from Ticket Master ONLY in the future to guarantee your seats at the next event.

Posted by: Fitzy on Oct 18, 2007 at 12:24 PM
The online ticket brokers are commiting felonious credit card fraud in my oppinion and should be prosecuted. Using the old "computer glitch" excuse..... yeah right. I would say produce the tickets for the buyers or face the consequences of fraud. There has to be some sort of accountability to protect consumers and put poorly run/scam scalpers out of business and/or behind bars. There needs to be reasonable limits on how much a scalper can charge over the face value of a given ticket at the very least. But really, people should know better than to pay these prices anyway. Still no excuse for these scammers.

Posted by: Harold on Oct 18, 2007 at 12:15 PM
I know its hard for some of you holyier than thow crowd but what is being explained here is a plain old fashioned rip-off scheme and it should be stopped. If you are judging if a grandmother can or cant afford to buy tickets for her grand kids you have many more problems than grandma does.And yes of corse we know all of your children and grand children are volunteering their time for some worthy cause,ha ha. how about if you go pawn your p/c and donate the money to charity, that would be the best benefit from this.

Posted by: Jarbeau on Oct 18, 2007 at 12:11 PM
I cannot believe that someone who sells tickets for double their face value would be dishonest. I would like to disagree with the other comments about these people getting what they deserve; but, I can't.

Posted by: Steve on Oct 18, 2007 at 12:01 PM
I bought tickets from the same rip-off artists mentioned in the article. They told me they sold them 30 times over, when infact they just ended up selling them for more money at a later time.There should be a law against this! They also charged my credit card for the tickets a month ago, i just hope i get that credit but i am not holding my breath. Why isnt there a law in nebraska like some other states, tickets cant be sold for more than 10% over face. sounds easy does it not?

Posted by: Laura on Oct 18, 2007 at 11:42 AM
My six year olds don't even know who Hanna Montana is, much less know about concerts. Am I old fashioned, or are kids growing up too fast?

Posted by: Sarah on Oct 18, 2007 at 11:42 AM
Boo hoo. How do you explain this to a 5 year old? Tell her "Hey, you're 5. Your life is already great." If this is really so devistating for Taylor.. the whole "Santa thing" may actually end her will to live. Sounds more like Grandma is mad that she's got egg on her face.

Posted by: Mike on Oct 18, 2007 at 11:33 AM
I for one sure cant feel sorry for anybody that is willing to spend twice or even more then the face value of a ticket.

Posted by: Steve on Oct 18, 2007 at 11:27 AM
To Glen...The Qwest Center ALWAYS advises AGAINST you to purchase tickets from a broker unless they are proven to be reputable. Get the story straight.

Posted by: Jaime on Oct 18, 2007 at 10:38 AM
I to may have been scammed by an out fit out of Indiana. I purchased Hannah Montana tickets for the show in omaha and have yet to get my tickets. The site was "premiumticketsforless" I have called several times and keep getting the same story they are in the mail. I may be out $463.

Posted by: Terri on Oct 18, 2007 at 09:43 AM
What a great learning experience for this family. And why did you pay so much money for the concert? I am sure your 5 year old will not suffer years of agony because she did not get to see her favorite singer. And hopefully you learned a valuable lesson. That is why they are called scalpers. You should of put the $327 in her college fund, or better yet teach her about giving and donate the money to a charity.

Posted by: Glen on Oct 18, 2007 at 08:43 AM
This would not happen if the venue (in this case the Qwest Center) would sell tickets directly to the customers instead of giving preferrential treatment to the "ticket brokers". I'm sure there are economic reasons for selling to brokers but the losers are the folks who live in the city where the venue is located. The bottom line is tax dollars pay for these venues and those paying the taxes or bonds get the short end of the stick. They can't even buy tickets with some assurance they will have an even chance to get good seats and not get ripped off! This needs to be fixed but of course the process will not change because "this is the way it is done". And city officials wonder why there is so much opposition to a new stadium. Here's a hint...the citizens who pay the bills are getting ripped off and the "business community" gets the profits(and there aren't that many citizens who benefit directly from the profits earned).

Posted by: anonymous on Oct 18, 2007 at 07:58 AM
my daughter wants to go to but i was not lucky enough to get a ticket for her i would not have purchased one online unless it was from ticket master or quest because of scams like this it's the way of the world now days you can't trust people to much especially over the internet it's sad.

Posted by: J on Oct 18, 2007 at 07:37 AM
$327 for a 5 year-old to a see a TV personality? And you can't explain that disappointments happen in life? Sounds a little spoiled to me.

Posted by: DB on Oct 18, 2007 at 07:32 AM
I'm sorry, but if you're able to afford $327 for Hannah Montana concert tickets, then your child probably hasn't had much adversity in her life. There are worse tragedies in the world.

Posted by: tony on Oct 18, 2007 at 03:45 AM
i may be old school but i wouldn't purchase anything online

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