AG Jeff Jackson demands answers from Ticketmaster over Canes ticket sales
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Attorney General Jeff Jackson said Thursday that he is demanding answers from Ticketmaster about presale queues, technology issues, and how it monitors and responds to bots and other bad actors that try to disrupt the sales process for Stanley Cup Final tickets.
Many Hurricanes season ticket holders who had presale codes so they could buy seats before anyone else said they couldn't get tickets because of issues with Ticketmaster's queue, Jackson said.
"Season ticket holders did everything right. They had the codes, they showed up on time, and the system left them in line for hours and without tickets," Jackson said. "Ticketmaster's got one week to respond to our questions."
According to complaints to the AG's office and news reports, fans tried to log in on time, but, after "technical errors," got pushed to the back of the line. Many waited hours, reached the front, and found the primary tickets already gone, Jackson said.
That left those season-ticket holders with only one option -- the resale market, where some of those tickets were listed for thousands of dollars.
Jackson sent Ticketmaster a letter on Thursday, demanding that the company explain:
- How many reports of technical failures did it received during the Hurricanes presale.
- What it did to investigate those failures, and what it found.
- Whether it compensated any affected season ticket holders.
- How many season ticket holders were eligible to buy, how many tickets were available, and how many actually went to season ticket holders.
- Why many season ticket holders couldn't buy primary-market tickets.
- How it monitored the sale for bots, and what it did when it suspected them.
"Ticketmaster controls a huge part of how tickets get sold," said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "If it wants to collect the fees, it can answer the questions."
Hurricanes fans who had problems buying Stanley Cup Final tickets can file a complaint at www.ncdoj.gov/complaint.
