After hearing that a concert I had tickets to had been canceled, I called Ticketmaster to verify this. A customer service rep told me that it had, in fact, been called off. She told me to return my tickets to the point of purchase for a full refund.
Imagine my surprise when I tried to return the tickets and found out that the show had taken place as scheduled. I called Ticketmaster and wrote letters including my tickets and explainging what happened. I was told the there "is no record of your phone call." How convenient for Ticketmieser. I lost about $200 on four tickets. When they replied to my fourth letter, they finally held onto the tickets so that I couldn't keep sending them with my complaints.
I know there is no way to avoid using Ticketmaster, since they have a monopoly on concert venues in the U.S. Still, I urge people to hate them and use voodoo or whatever is in their power to bring about their downfall. Also, watch out for Clear Channel, another monopoly that puts on concerts and makes venues sign explusive deals. They flex their muscle whenever anyone tries to compete with them. They own most of the billboards you see, many of the radio stations you listen to and lots of other things that should worry you.
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