I Google searched the internet for "Stomp Denver" to buy tickets to the upcoming "Stomp" show at the Buell Theater in Denver.
The search result I clicked on (I think it was the top non-ad one on Google) was "Denver-Theater.com". Shame on me for not looking more closely at the web-site and assuming this was the actual Denver Center for the Performing Arts ticket office website.
When I looked at ticket prices the least expensive that came up on any of the five days of the show was $41 so I assumed they were the cheapest. I reserved 3 seats at that price (no seating assignment was displayed) and proceeded to checkout. As has been the case before, the service charges were unjustified ($6.15 per ticket "service charge", and $7.50 to email me the e-tickets!). I proceeded anyway thinking this was just "normal" and everyone had to pay this.
After final processing, a pop-up ad offered me a savings of $25 on something non-descript if I called a certain phone number (all kinds of small print disclaimers at the bottom of the pop-up). This seemed peculiar to me so I went back to Google and searched for Denver Center for the Performing Arts and realized I had not bought directly from the box office, but from a re-seller. I looked at the pricing and availability of the tickets on their website and saw that the cheapest tickets were $25 and the next tier was $40. I assumed (again incorrectly) that I still only got "shafted" on the $7.50 e-ticket fee. No big deal, live and learn.
I then received an email from Denver-Theater.com with an order confirmation number and notification that another email would be following with information on how to print my tickets. It identified the actual ticket seller as "Ticket King --WI". This elevated my concern because now there were two middlemen that had to have profited from my mistake.
I called the Denver-Theater.com (order by phone) number to request cancellation of the order within 10 minutes of placing the order because I knew I had paid more than I should have had I not been fooled by the clever Denver-Theater website. They told me that their website specifically states "no refunds" and it does, but they offered that I could call the actual ticket holder who would be charging the card. Denver-Theatre is apparently set up as a website that essentially advertises ticket sales for other owners. Instead, I first called my credit card company and they said the could not reverse the charge if I paid for what was advertised.
I called Ticket-King and the rude lady there said the tickets were not refundable from them and that I would have to take the matter up with Denver-Theater.com. It was obvious to me that this was a "legitimate scam" operation; the two companies possibly in cahoots.
A little less than an hour after I received the first email from Denver-Theater.com, I received the second one with printing instructions. Guess what? They were not $40 tickets, they were $25 tickets. So I paid $148.95 for 3 tickets with a face value of $25 each. I could have gone to the box office and paid $75 total - no fees, according to the box office web-site.
I bet there are many similar operations like this in the marketplace fleecing people, so I just wanted to vent my frustration in hopes that others will be more careful to not line the pockets of these charlatan scum bags and hopefully put them out of business eventually. They provide absolutely no value to the general public unless they are legitimately selling tickets that they purchased after the box office sells out.
Denver-Theater.com Reviews
I Google searched the internet for "Stomp Denver" to buy tickets to the upcoming "Stomp" show at the Buell Theater in Denver.
The search result I clicked on (I think it was the top non-ad one on Google) was "Denver-Theater.com". Shame on me for not looking more closely at the web-site and assuming this was the actual Denver Center for the Performing Arts ticket office website.
When I looked at ticket prices the least expensive that came up on any of the five days of the show was $41 so I assumed they were the cheapest. I reserved 3 seats at that price (no seating assignment was displayed) and proceeded to checkout. As has been the case before, the service charges were unjustified ($6.15 per ticket "service charge", and $7.50 to email me the e-tickets!). I proceeded anyway thinking this was just "normal" and everyone had to pay this.
After final processing, a pop-up ad offered me a savings of $25 on something non-descript if I called a certain phone number (all kinds of small print disclaimers at the bottom of the pop-up). This seemed peculiar to me so I went back to Google and searched for Denver Center for the Performing Arts and realized I had not bought directly from the box office, but from a re-seller. I looked at the pricing and availability of the tickets on their website and saw that the cheapest tickets were $25 and the next tier was $40. I assumed (again incorrectly) that I still only got "shafted" on the $7.50 e-ticket fee. No big deal, live and learn.
I then received an email from Denver-Theater.com with an order confirmation number and notification that another email would be following with information on how to print my tickets. It identified the actual ticket seller as "Ticket King --WI". This elevated my concern because now there were two middlemen that had to have profited from my mistake.
I called the Denver-Theater.com (order by phone) number to request cancellation of the order within 10 minutes of placing the order because I knew I had paid more than I should have had I not been fooled by the clever Denver-Theater website. They told me that their website specifically states "no refunds" and it does, but they offered that I could call the actual ticket holder who would be charging the card. Denver-Theatre is apparently set up as a website that essentially advertises ticket sales for other owners. Instead, I first called my credit card company and they said the could not reverse the charge if I paid for what was advertised.
I called Ticket-King and the rude lady there said the tickets were not refundable from them and that I would have to take the matter up with Denver-Theater.com. It was obvious to me that this was a "legitimate scam" operation; the two companies possibly in cahoots.
A little less than an hour after I received the first email from Denver-Theater.com, I received the second one with printing instructions. Guess what? They were not $40 tickets, they were $25 tickets. So I paid $148.95 for 3 tickets with a face value of $25 each. I could have gone to the box office and paid $75 total - no fees, according to the box office web-site.
I bet there are many similar operations like this in the marketplace fleecing people, so I just wanted to vent my frustration in hopes that others will be more careful to not line the pockets of these charlatan scum bags and hopefully put them out of business eventually. They provide absolutely no value to the general public unless they are legitimately selling tickets that they purchased after the box office sells out.