Ticketmaster Fined By Mexican Regulators For Overselling Bad Bunny Tickets
Mexican regulators have issued a fine to Ticketmaster following ticket issues at Bad Bunny’s latest concert.
Last weekend, fans were left distraught and disappointed after being denied entry despite purchasing tickets to see one of the most famous artists out right now.
What happened?
Bad Bunny’s concert at the 85,000-seat Azteca Stadium saw thousands of people flock to Ticketmaster to purchase their tickets. Many were turned away despite hundreds of fans purchasing tickets to attend the event.
Ticketmaster canceled hundreds of tickets due to claims of counterfeit and duplicated tickets being bought without much notice being given to ticket buyers.
Following the catastrophe, Ticketmaster released an online statement addressing the situation. The company also claims that the tickets many fans had purchased were fake, so they canceled them and refused to give them entry to the venue.
However, Mexican regulators are not buying it. Ricardo Sheffield, Mexico’s federal consumer attorney, told the local press that none of the tickets bought were fake. In fact, many of them were purchased directly from Ticketmaster’s website. Sheffield believes the issue was another example of Ticketmaster overselling tickets without realizing they had reached venue capacity.
In response to the catastrophe, Sheffield promised turned away fans a full refund and compensation of at least 20% of what they paid. According to Sheffield, his company has already processed over 1,000 refund requests to people who had bought legitimate tickets but were still denied entry into the concert.
Additionally, the company plans to fine Ticketmaster up to 10% of its 2021 earnings. The exact acceptable amount has not yet been disclosed, but it is set to be announced later by Mexican regulators this week.
“Affected individuals are encouraged to file their complaints directly with the Ticketmaster service,” he added.
“Due to the cloning of tickets for the singer Bad Bunny’s first concert” on Friday, Mexico’s federal consumer attorney sent a team of people to Aztec Stadium to help consumers experiencing ticket issues ahead of Bad Bunny’s second show.
This isn’t the first time Ticketmaster has come under fire
Earlier this month, Taylor Swift fans also filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster for ‘unlawful conduct’ due to millions of fans being unable to purchase concert tickets due to insufficient ticket releases.
According to reports, more than two dozen Taylor Swift fans are suing the platform for “fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations.” Many are seeking penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation due to not receiving their tickets.
Fans believe Ticketmaster “intentionally and knowingly” allowed bots to access the website.
As Ticketmaster continues to come under fire, it seems like the platform is becoming less trustworthy and reliable for fans everywhere.