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DPAC alters website wording in response to fan group's complaint
DURHAM, Apr 09, 2012 (The Herald-Sun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The Durham Performing Arts Center has changed the wording of its notice prohibiting online resale of tickets in response to a complaint filed from an organization claiming to represent fans.
In a letter dated March 13, Cheri L. Myers, corporations director for the N.C. secretary of state's office, requested that DPAC change the wording of the notice to reflect state law governing online resales. Myers asked DPAC to add the phrase "at a price greater than the price on the face of the ticket" to the notice.
"The Secretary of State's office was very complimentary of our response in the slight wording amendment to our website," state Bob Klaus, DPAC general manager, in an email. The venue, he said, is "committed to providing equal and fair access to tickets and ensuring that fans are able to purchase tickets without paying the exorbitant mark-ups commonly seen when tickets are resold by brokers and speculators online."
The secretary of state also told DPAC that for all shows and concerts where the prohibition is posted on its website, "Ticketmaster (or other primary ticket seller for the event) must also post the notice conspicuously on its Web site."
"The secretary of state did the right thing," said Jon Potter, president of Fan Freedom Project, which filed the complaint in February. "Consumers should be appreciative that the law is being enforced completely, at least in terms of the [notices of prohibition]," he said.
The Washington, D.C.-based Fan Freedom Project filed the complaint with the secretary of state's office and the N.C. attorney general. Fan Freedom said that the previous wording on DPAC's website implied that all ticket resales were prohibited -- even at or below the face ticket price. State law prohibits resale above face value if the venue posts the prohibition notice. The venue cannot prohibit sales at or below the face price.
Fan Freedom also complained that TicketsNow, the subsidiary of Ticketmaster that resells tickets, was selling tickets for DPAC events at prices above the ticket value. In its letter, Fan Freedom stated that tickets for the March 6 Big Time Rush show were selling for between $82 and $186 on TicketsNow, but the show had originally sold in the range of $30 to $55.
The secretary of state's office has no investigative power in this case. The attorney general's office is investigating Fan Freedom's complaint against Ticketmaster and TicketsNow. In February, Noelle Talley, spokeswoman for the attorney general, said that the Consumer Protection Division would "treat it as a consumer complaint, meaning they will ask the companies for a response and follow up with the consumers."
Officials from the attorney general's office and with Ticketmaster were not available for comment last week.
Fan Freedom Project formed in February 2011. Its website states that it advocates for the rights of ticket holders. "As fans, when we buy a ticket, we own it," the site states. "We have the right to do what we choose with our ticket." The complaint filed against DPAC was the organization's first formal complaint filed with a government organization.
___ (c)2012 The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.) Visit The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.)
at www.heraldsun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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