Ticketmaster Sucks!

So I bought Flyers tickets last month, and it was a great game. After the online transaction, there was some advertisement to get $25 off the next TicketMaster (TM) order. After clicking on it, it was determined to be garbage, and the back button was used with no further thought.

On a related note, my credit card bill came and there was this charge from "Entertainment Rewards" (sucks!) for $9 that I did not recognize. With a little research, I discovered a link to TM and searched my email for anything related to Entertainment. An obscure message was in the SPAM folder extolling the virtues of my new free trial membership in Entertainment Rewards (ER) (sucks!). It also mentioned that I would be charged in a month. Since the message was more than a month old, I guess that's what the charge was for.

Apparently, TM gave my credit card number and address to ER (sucks!) without my permission. I'm absolutely certain that I didn't authorize the charge. A little research reveals that ER (sucks!) is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), and so is TM. So this company pads their earnings by charging unknowing TM customers for ER (sucks!) memberships they never wanted. I'm not the only one affected, as a quick Google search will show (over 300,000 hits!). In fact, when I called the credit card company, they were quite familiar with ER (sucks!) and guessed that a TM purchase was involved.

So, if you buy tickets from TM (which if you go to a concert or sporting event, you'll do), be extra careful not to click on ads. Also keep an eye on your SPAM folder for that and the next few days to make sure you didn't "accidentally" enroll in Entertainment Rewards (sucks!). Business practices like this shouldn't be encouraged, in fact they should be illegal. I think I'll complain to the credit card, the BBB, and the FTC.