Pasted below is ACI’s letter, coauthored with Consumer Action and others, to the Massachusetts legislators applauding their efforts to give consumers the right to resell purchased tickets.
Dear Representative Moran and Senator Eldridge:
On behalf of live event consumers, the American Consumer Institute (ACI), Consumer Action, and Fan Freedom (FF) write to you in support of strengthening Massachusetts’ consumer ticketing protections and opening up the market to ensure consumers have the right to decide what they do with the tickets they purchase.
We believe consumers have basic rights when they purchase tickets, including the right to a full refund if an event is cancelled, a ticket is counterfeit, otherwise different than described by the seller or is not delivered prior to an event. We also believe that consumers should have the same rights as ticketing companies, including the right to resell tickets for market value, which includes reselling tickets for more than the original purchase price.
These basic consumer protections will insure that ticket resellers adhere to a higher standard. No consumer should lose their hard earned money because an event was cancelled, they were sold a fraudulent or misleading ticket, or because their plans change at the last minute.
In addition, Massachusetts’ outdated resale laws prevent consumers from owning the tickets they purchase and using, giving away or reselling those tickets however they choose. Massachusetts in one of only a handful of states that limits the prices at which tickets can be sold for on the secondary market to two dollars above face value. By removing this cap on the secondary market, ticket resales can move out of the shadowy black market and into the consumer protected mainstream. This will increase competition on the secondary market, giving consumers more choices and leading to lower fees and greater customer service.
Rep. Moran and Sen. Eldridge, we applaud your efforts to stand up for Massachusetts consumers and we reiterate our support for passing common sense consumer ticketing laws in Massachusetts.
We hope these efforts are a first step in dealing with anti-consumer practices and look forward to stronger consumer protections next year, including legislation requiring ticket sellers and venues to disclose how many tickets are actually available to the public; and a guarantee that consumers own the tickets they purchase and can give-away or resell their tickets however they choose.