Winnipeg woman suing Ticketmaster for overcharging

A Winnipeg woman has launched a class action lawsuit against concert ticket giant Ticketmaster for overcharging.

According to the woman's lawyer, her daughter bought tickets through a Ticketmaster subsidiary for around $200 each when the original ticket price was just $57.

"It's highly offensive to the consumer [and] it's highly offensive to Manitobans who just want to go see a concert and pay a fair and reasonable price for it," said Matthew Maruca. "They don't want to pay 10 times the face value of the ticket."

'It's highly offensive to the consumer [and] it's highly offensive to Manitobans who just want to go see a concert and pay a fair and reasonable price for it.'—Matthew Maruca, lawyer

Maruca calls Ticketmaster's practice a blatant violation of Manitoba legislation, which does not allow a person or company to sell tickets for more than face value.

The suit was prompted by a high profile case against Ticketmaster in the United States, which involved Bruce Springsteen going to bat for his fans.

That controversy began after more than 2,000 fans complained that initial attempts to buy tickets to a Feb. 2 Springsteen concert in New Jersey redirected them to a subsidiary, TicketsNow, which offered the tickets at an inflated price.

The veteran rocker himself chimed in, saying he was "furious" about the situation and called the move an "abuse" of his fans.

"We condemn this practice. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow to cease and desist immediately," Springsteen said in a letter posted on his website.

The company agreed to pay back Springsteen fans back for the inflated costs.

Investigation launched by N.J.

The New Jersey attorney general's office undertook an investigation into whether Ticketmaster broke state laws.

A settlement was announced Monday with Ticketmaster. Under the settlement, Ticketmaster will pay the state $440,000 Cdn to settle costs associated with the investigation, reported the New Jersey Star-Ledger newspaper.

The settlement also requires the company to halt the redirection practice. Ticketmaster, however, has not admitted to any wrongdoing in the case.