UPDATE (Dec.13): A man charged in connection with a concert ticket scam is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Amritjot Singh Randhawa is now facing counts of fraud and possession of a forged document. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
A Coquitlam woman hopes confronting the man she says sold her fake concert tickets will serve as a warning to consumers.
“I can’t let someone go through the same thing,” says Natalia Kaczmarek.
Kaczmarek’s ticket nightmare began when she posted on Craigslist she was looking for six tickets for the show “Thunder From Down Under”.
“Someone messaged me back saying, hey my girlfriend is actually selling these because she can’t attend any more with her friends,” says Kaczmarek.
She agreed to buy them for $300 and sent her parents to meet with the seller.
“He shows them their ID, my dad checks it. It’s the same person, looks exactly the same and gives the print out of the tickets,”Kaczmarek says.
Kaczmarek says when she and her friends showed up at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, they were told the tickets were not real. Kaczmarek had to pay for six more tickets and was out over $600.
Days later, she went back online, hoping to find the person who sold her the tickets. It turns out the same person Kaczmarek says sold her the fake tickets was back online using the same contact information and selling Adele and Kanye West tickets for hundreds of dollars.
Kaczmarek decided to confront the seller and contacted him again for Kanye West tickets. They agreed to meet and Kaczmarek’s father and Global BC’s Consumer Matters were also there.
When Global News crews moved in and attempted to ask the seller questions, he ran from the cameras. Kaczmarek says she may file a police report.
Vancouver ticket broker Kingsley Bailey says consumers need more protection.
“There needs to be legislation in place. If there’s legislation that has teeth, this stuff will not be happening,” he says.
The Better Business Bureau says it’s easy for scammers to set up fake websites. If you are unsure of the site or the ticket price sounds too good to be true, leave the website immediately. Stick with well known ticket sellers; sites like Craigslist may offer cheaper prices, but they can be riskier.
Global BC made efforts to contact the ticket seller, but those efforts were unsuccessful.