Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan must think U of I students, faculty and alumni are dummies, despite the fact they attend or graduated from one of the nation's top institutions of higher learning. Madigan is warning Illini fans to be on guard against Rose Bowl scams.
Fans have to be on guard about purchasing tickets, making travel arrangements and last-minute bargains to Pasedena, Calif., because the Fighting Illini have been selected to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl against Southern Cal. “As the bowl season approaches, there are con artists ready to take advantage of fans who want to join in the festivities,” Madigan warns.
Perhaps the warnings are called for seeing in past years Wisconsin fans were bamboozled the last time the Badgers were in the Rose Bowl. Madigan specifically warns of attempting to purchase tickets online from a third party which may run the risk of receiving a counterfeit ticket or no ticket at all. Ticket brokers, she says, should be members of the National Association of Ticket Brokers (www.natb.org) and the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org). Both organizations promote ethical business conduct.
Madigan said the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation has established rules for special-event travel package promoters. These rules require that tour operators who market college bowl packages that include tickets to the game in conjunction with airfare must either have already purchased the tickets or have a written contract for the tickets before advertising a package.
This “Truth in Ticketing” rule also requires that companies pay full refunds to consumers if they sell a travel package that includes game tickets and airfare, but fail to provide the game tickets. She suggests purchasing travel packages with a credit card, which gives consumers the ability to dispute a charge if the promoter does not fulfill all of its promises.
Consumers who believe that they have been cheated by an unscrupulous travel promoter are urged to contact Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-386-5438 to report the incident and file a consumer complaint.
Now, if The Hound could only get a ticket for the Chief.
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