After months of complaints, a troubled ticket broker site has received an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
The Omaha, NE-based VIP Tickets Midwest, recently received the rating from its local BBB, along with a consumer alert. The alert notes that the BBB has received over 30 complaints, 19 in July alone, for the company from customers of the site, including problems with delivery of purchased tickets and failure to communicate with customers. The alert adds that BBB personnel attempted follow-up on the complaints but also were unable to reach staff at the company.
The Web site once operated by the company is now also gone.
The VIP’s “F” rating was based on a number of factors, including the business having multiple complaints against it, at least nine of which have been unresolved and one that was identified as “serious,” as well as the company not responding to at least three of these complaints.
One such complaint came from the Girard family of Peru, NE, who had spent $250 on tickets from VIP for this weekend’s Sugarland concert in Omaha. As of July 28, the tickets had not yet been delivered, and the family was unable to reach the broker with their concerns. A visit to the broker’s local office by WOWT-TV, a local television station investigating the claims, found the door locked and the sign removed.
Following WOWT-TV’s report, an unnamed attorney representing the now-defunct company sent the station a letter guaranteeing delivery of the upgraded tickets to the family for the August 6 concert, and soon after, the family did receive their tickets. Had the family not received the tickets, representatives of Sugarland told TicketNews that the band was prepared to step up and provide tickets.
An Oregon family also reports losing money on tickets purchased from VIP, in this case paying $400 for Katy Perry tickets that never arrived. The Hutleys reported to the Albany Democrat- Herald that tickets they had purchased from VIP in March for a Perry’s July 22 concert in Portland were never delivered, and their attempts to reach the company to follow up were unsuccessful. Democrat-Herald staff also attempted to contact the company by phone, but the calls only reached an answering machine and then were disconnected. Unlike the Girards, the Hutleys saw their concert date come and go without any compensation from the company. Stephanie Hutley told the newspaper that the family may file a complaint with the Justice Department regarding their recent difficulties.