There are plenty of people who have been ripped off, local venues say

An Oregon legislative bill that would address unfair and unscrupulous event ticket selling activity online is being championed by District 5 state Rep. Pam Marsh, whose own staff has been the victim of a ticket scam.

House Bill 3167, deemed the Fan Fairness & Transparency Act, aims to provide protections for those who buy tickets to sporting and entertainment events from secondary ticket sellers. Marsh, D-Ashland, is a chief sponsor of the bill.   

“What we are trying to do is not solve every problem associated with ticketing, but we want to solve some of the problems that affect local ventures,” Marsh said. Countless Oregonians have been scammed by deceptive practices and hidden fees, she said.

Marsh was optimistic about getting the bill passed when interviewed Wednesday. A meeting on the bill between staff and stakeholders had been held earlier in the day.  

“We hope to get a work session to move it out of the committee where it is assigned. It shouldn’t need to go to Ways and Means,” Marsh said. It would then go to the House floor for a vote, followed by Senate consideration. 

“When legislators hear about the bill, they are pretty excited,” said Marsh. “They are having experiences, being led to websites that aren’t the vendor and then paying double or triple more than they need to pay (for event tickets). It is increasingly common.” 

Marsh’s chief of staff, Paige Prewett, wanted to take her 4-year-old granddaughter to a production of “The Little Mermaid” at the Craterian Theater, Marsh related at a March 11 public hearing on the bill before the Oregon House Commerce & Consumer Protection Committee. When Prewett went online, a ticket site said there were only 25 seats left and asked $75 per ticket. 

“Pressured to get the tickets, she bought them. A little later, she wondered if this was the transaction she intended,” said Marsh. A double-check found that there were lots of tickets available, and the price was $25 per seat. 

“When the Craterian was contacted, they said this sort of scam happens all too often and there was nothing the venue could do. ‘We need a law,’ they added,” said Marsh.  

The Britt Music & Arts Festival is backing the bill. When Britt learned that Marsh was pursuing ticketing legislation, it joined the effort.  

“Speculative ticketing is a really key element of the bill. Speculative ticketing is where folks who are selling fake tickets they do not possess … are hoping they can then procure a ticket from the venues at the base price,” Abbey McKee, president and CEO of the festival, told the committee in Salem. “This happens at every single Britt show.”

McKee related the story of a woman who purchased two $1,500 tickets to see Willie Nelson at Britt, a treat for her mother who was retiring. A couple hours later, she found out Britt was not yet selling those tickets and that the top price from the festival would be $159. The woman contacted Britt, which was able to get the credit card transaction canceled.

McKee showed committee members screenshots of tickets for two upcoming musical group performances that were being offered online. But the tickets had not yet been offered for sale by Britt.

“It’s consumer protection, but it is also business protection,” said Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Keizer, another chief sponsor of the measure. “If you are not playing by the rules, there will be accountability.”

Among key provisions in the bill are:

• Requirements for resellers to ensure security and disclose information such as seat location, guarantees, buyer protection and refund policies for event cancellation.  
• Have an all-in pricing requirement showing all costs prior to final checkout and payment, although some charges would be exempted in line with federal rules. 
• Transparency that a ticket sale is coming from a secondary source and not the event organizer. Sellers would be prevented from using domain names, photos, logos or other materials that would mislead buyers about the ticket’s origin.
• A ban on speculative ticketing, making it unlawful to sell a ticket not physically or electronically in possession of a reseller.
• Makes act violations an unlawful practice and allows for a right to sue. 

A total of 55 written submissions in support of the measure were made before the hearing. There were only three in opposition. A variety of groups support the measure, including the Independent Venue Coalition and Oregon Consumer Justice. In all, 16 senators and representatives are bill sponsors.

Two ticket resellers spoke against the bill. While both said they generally supported the measure, there were specific provisions which they opposed.

The secondary market does not have access to information about tickets that the bill would require, said Tyler St. Clair with Vivid Seats. But the requirement for full disclosure of pricing is good, he added. 

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival can have challenges with resellers, Director of Marketing and Communications Javier Dubon wrote in an email. 

“We always encourage audiences to purchase directly from OSF, as third-party sellers can mislead patrons, inflate prices, and increase the risk of fraudulent tickets which puts our patrons at risk,” Dubon stated. “While we actively communicate this to ticket buyers, misleading practices persist. A key aspect of HB 3167 includes protections that would hold third-party ticket sellers accountable and protect our audiences.” 

Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at tboomwriter@gmail.com.