Rolling Stones Fans Frustrated After Pre-Sale Ticket 'Bait-And-Switch'

Fans of The Rolling Stones are feeling swindled after trying to buy pre-sale tickets to see the legendary rockers when they come to Canada this year.

The group announced last week that they would perform at Burl’s Creek in Oro-Medonte, Ontario – their only tour date in Canada – this June. At first, pre-sale tickets were set at $119 plus service charges. However, when fans tried to buy tickets on Wednesday, the general admission price was raised to $179. Fans were confused and annoyed at the sudden increase in price, after they originally saw an affordable ticket.

“I went on to buy general admission tickets. I had secured four tickets at $119.50,” one fan, Jim Fox, told the Toronto Sun. “You click yes, you want it and go to the next screen. All of a sudden the price jumped to $199 (each).”

He said that his son tried to buy tickets at the original low price and the same thing happened to him. When he contacted Ticketmaster to ask about the price change, the ticketing site said the price change was a “technical error.”

Concert organizer Republic Live commented on the matter, noting that a “human error” was at fault.

“During a presale, a human error impacted a limited number of fans which was quickly fixed,” the organizer said in a statement. “We apologize for any inconvenience and are working directly with fans to resolve.”

Additionally, the venue said that a number of tickets were allocated at different price levels and when one level sold out, customers were “automatically redirected to the next pricing level of tickets to complete their purchase if they wished to continue.”

When fans contacted the venue, they were told a limited amount of tickets were available at $119, causing the giant spike increase. Nonetheless, the low price still remained on the site for a significant amount of time, confusing ticket buyers.

Fans took out their frustration, noting that this was a bait-and-switch situation:

When tickets went on sale on Friday, ticket prices started at $199.

The Rolling Stones will kick-off their “No Filter Tour” this April, hitting cities like Houston, Philadelphia, Denver, and Chicago before wrapping up in Ontario.

Visit Ticket Club to find tickets to see The Rolling Stones on tour this year