Oct 22, 2007 9:24 pm US/Eastern
Hannah Montana Ticket Sales Spark Investigation
by Paula Ebben
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Hannah Montana, played by Miley Cyrus, is the latest pop princess from Disney who's Worcester concert dates sold out in four minutes.
AP
If you spend any time with girls between the ages of 5 and 15, surely you've heard of Hannah Montana. She's the latest pop princess from Disney whose Worcester concert dates sold out in four minutes.
Not only has she become the hottest ticket in town, WBZ has learned her concert is sparking a state investigation.
Kids like Hannah Montana because she's just like them. Parents like her because she's squeaky clean with lyrics even the preschool set can sing along to.
That's why Tara Saccetti of Brockton promised her little girls she would try to get tickets for Hannah Montana's December show in Worcester. "I thought this would be a great Christmas gift."
Tara knew the tickets would go quickly, but like a lot of people, she wasn't prepared for what happened. "I couldn't get through for anything -- not two seats, not one seat -- nothing."
She went online and found ticket brokers had plenty of seats available -- some as high as $1,500 a piece.
Tara wants to know how brokers get around the four ticket limit. WBZ has learned Attorney General Martha Coakley is joining a multi-state investigation into the sale of the Hannah Montana tickets.
But this isn't a new issue. Just ask life-long Red Sox fan Coleman Herman. He won a lawsuit against a ticket broker who tried to charge him $500 for $85 seats. "I just cannot afford to pay for tickets anymore... And it's because of the scalpers."
So you would think that Beacon Hill might find some relief for consumers. Well get this -- The House actually passed a bill to make it easier for brokers to charge these high prices.
Senator Michael Morrissey is considering another version of that bill with possible penalties. One concern is that out of state brokers could still prey on consumers. "If the mothers that didn't get tickets... If they have any ideas…We're all ears."
But there may be some hope for consumers. A federal judge in California issued a ruling last week to block a software program that some ticket brokers were using to jump in front of the electronic ticket line.
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