Bogus Super Bowl Tickets Spark Washington Attorney General Lawsuit
Yes, the Seahawks 2015 Super Bowl loss was heartbreaking for fans. We'll leave that in the past. But here's something new: The state is filing a lawsuit against one Super Bowl ticket vendor. KUOW's Sara Lerner reports.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that, for a lot of fans, the heartbreak started before the game. That's because they spent $2,000 to $3,000 on bogus tickets to the Super Bowl, not to mention expensive hotel rooms and airfare.
Ferguson said his office has received a hundred complaints about these types of incidents and is filing a lawsuit against one vendor: SBTickets.com.
One complaint came from a man who lives in Mukilteo. He bought his supposed pass to the game from SBTickets, a company which posts a 100 percent guarantee on its site. It even says: no tricks or gimmicks here. But the man had to pick the ticket up in Arizona.
He said he called the company and talked to someone who said, yes, the tickets are right here in my hand and they're yours. Then, the Friday before the game, Ferguson says, the man received another reassuring email.
Ferguson: "This is from SBTickets.com: 'please rest assured that by having chosen SB Tickets as your Super Bowl ticket vendor, your tickets are guaranteed and waiting to get you into the big game.' So these are folks who on the eve of the Super Bowl, right? Before they're getting on their planes, they're calling to make sure that SB Tickets has the tickets and they're saying they did. Again, that was a lie."
An attorney for SBTickets says all ticket buyers did eventually receive refunds - which the AG's office says is probably true. But the state is asking SBTickets to reimburse customers not only for the ticket price but for lodging and travel to Arizona.
As the company is already promoting tickets to Super Bowl 2016, the state is also seeking an injunction to stop SBTickets from engaging in deceptive practices in the future.
The Attorney General's Office is interested in hearing from more consumers with similar experiences. You can file a complaint online or by calling the office at 800-551-INFO.
