Enraged Parent.......not really that enraged, but still!

(this is an email I sent to all the local news channels this morning. Now I know that on the scale of things, this is no big deal. This is not doing anything to solve world hunger or save the environment, both of which I care very much about, but it is something that matters to Raegan and it's worth my energy:))

I am outraged and don't know anyone better to vent to than this news station - hoping for justice!

You've seen stories popping up all over the country, about enraged parents looking for tickets to a Hannah Montana concert, only to be denied. It is not the "being denied" part that I am so furious about. ...that's just life. However, when the tickets go on pre-sale for fan club members, the tickets should ONLY be available for FAN CLUB MEMBERS!

I was on ticketmaster at 9:59 this morning, and again, immediately at 10:00, when these pre-sale tickets became available. (I was there earlier, but you get the point) I entered my daughter's fan club access code, but was told, at 10:00, that there were no tickets! How is this possible?! I ask myself this question because when I do a google search for tickets in DC I get sites like: StubHub offering me tickets - that I just tried to buy for $66, now for $400+; or TicketsNow that have 54 tickets available at this venue alone? The list goes on.

Surely Ticketmaster has a way to monitor where these tickets are going. If I couldn't get 4 tickets at 10:00 then how did TicketsNow have 54 tickets, minutes later?! Even if TicketsNow, for instance, had 14 agents ready to log on at 10:00 and purchase tickets (4 tickets at a time is the max), how were they able to get through and have ticketmaster approve this amount going to the same address, which must be verified before purchase is complete?

This doesn't add up. It's more than just not being able to get tickets. It's the principal behind maintaining a moral, upstanding business acumen. This is nothing short of shady. I would love to know if any actual fan club members were able to buy tickets this morning, or if they all went to brokers? What's the point of having fan club pre-sales if brokers are the majority ticket owners by the end of the ....minute?

I could understand the price gouging on the sale of tickets to the general public. But it is crossing the line when you intentionally are deceptive (posing as a fan club member) in order to make a buck. Why would I encourage this business by buying overly priced tickets from a broker? I would pay more than $66, easily, to go see Hannah Montana, but I am not about to pay some broker that is in for an easy buck. I WON'T encourage that behavior.

I would love to see one of your investigative reporters do a story on the shady business of ticket brokers. How exactly do they go about cheating little children out of seeing one of their heroes? It's not right.

A concerned parent,
Emily Long