Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Ballet West warns patrons of scam "The Nutcracker" tickets from third-party vendors.
- Customers report inflated prices and nonexistent tickets, with some paying over $348 each.
- Legitimate tickets are available only through balletwest.org, arttix.org, or Ballet West's box office.
SALT LAKE CITY — Ballet West is warning patrons about scam tickets to "The Nutcracker" after several customers paid for invalid tickets from third-party vendors.
The dance company announced Friday it has been receiving calls from patrons who paid "significantly inflated prices" for fraudulent tickets. One customer bought four tickets through a third-party vendor, but three of the tickets were nonexistent in Ballet West's system, a Ballet West statement says.
Margo Cowley said she bought eight tickets when they first went on sale and paid $348 per ticket, which she said was "awfully expensive"; but she said she assumed since it was a professional company, the tickets would be pricey. Cowley said the website she bought the tickets on looked so real she thought it was Ballet West, so she didn't realize she got scammed until weeks later.
A few weeks ago, she got a call from a company called Go Tickets saying her tickets were going to be upgraded for free as better seats became available. Cowley was confused and told the company she was fine with the seats she purchased, but the caller wouldn't take "no" for an answer and said the eight tickets would be split into two groups of four and moved.
Some of her family was unsure if they could come to the show, so Cowley tried to find her tickets to see if she could sell three of them, but she couldn't find the tickets or figure out where the seats were. She tried calling Go Tickets back multiple times, but the people who answered said her tickets were delayed and they couldn't get them to her yet.
Cowley started feeling like something was wrong, and she became worried she got scammed. She called Ballet West directly, which confirmed she had been scammed and tickets are not that expensive.
Fortunately, Ballet West was able to find Cowley's tickets — they were listed under a different name and address — and she will be able to attend "The Nutcracker" Friday night with her family. She is also disputing the charges with her bank to see if she can get back the amount for which she was overcharged.
"I'm just grateful I do have tickets," Cowley said.
When she talked to Ballet West, Cowley said the company told her it had received a dozen similar calls this week. Ballet West's statement says third-party vendors are paying for top placement in Google search results and creating websites that appear official.
Common scam tactics will create fake accounts with customer information while hiding vendor contact information. Scam tickets are typically sold at extreme markups, such as $36 seats for more than $136. Scam tickets also often don't have specific seating assignments attached.
Legitimate tickets for "The Nutcracker" are only available through balletwest.org, arttix.org or Ballet West's box office. Tickets will not exceed $150 for the 2024 season and always include specific seat assignments, Ballet West said.
Anyone who suspects they purchased fraudulent tickets should verify their ticket confirmation is from balletwest.org.
