Fraud and Scam News

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The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has issued orders against an online ticket seller, Ben C. Huettl of Woodbury, Minnesota who traded in Green Bay Packers match tickets through his website LambeauTickets.com. The department has now placed several restrictions on his selling tickets online. The order came after the department received several scam complaints about the seller. He was accused of scamming eight buyers by not delivering tickets even after collecting payments in advance from them.

Buyers complained they did not get any tickets even after paying for them months in advance. Those who enquired were told their tickets had been cancelled as their credit cards had been marked for fraud, which actually was not true.

Officials allege greed as the motive: he might have wanted to sell the tickets for a higher price. The tickets, initially sold at $145 apiece, was said to fetch as much as $300 per ticket within days of the game.

The department has now restrained him from selling tickets he did not have in hand. He has also been forced to transfer the domain name of his website and, further, denied the use of his website for selling tickets. He would be liable for fines of $10,000 in case he violates any of the orders.

The state department refrained from prosecuting the charges under state law partly under the consideration that Huettl had given full refunds to his buyers. They did not do so also because they felt a successful prosecution under Wisconsin Law would not result in punishments stringent enough for Huettl.

Victims to the scam would, understandably, not be satisfied with a mere refund. They would still feel the pinch of losing out on something they were eagerly anticipating for months.

While issuing the order, Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Secretary Rod Nilsestuen bundled it along with some practical advice for ticket buyers:

• Be careful while buying tickets on line and from newspaper classifieds.
• Don’t deal with sellers who do not reveal their exact address and telephone numbers.
• Don’t deal with sellers without a permanent business location.
• Don’t send persons or companies you don’t know cashier’s checks or money orders for tickets.
• Before paying any money or giving a credit card number, determine if the seller actually has tickets by asking him to fax you a copy.
• Where possible, pay by credit card to protect your rights in disputes.
• Make sure you buy from ticket brokers who are members of the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB).
• Deal with brokers who are bonded. The NATB site reveals which ones are.

You can see more of his tips at the end of the linked news item above.

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