Attorney General Dana Nessel has issued a notice (PDF) to MTVRS, LLC — a Texas company — telling it to take down or change deceptive websites or it will face a lawsuit seeking an injunction and fines under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.
The Attorney General contends that the company is violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act by using two websites that mislead consumers into believing they are purchasing official tickets for popular Mackinac Island attractions.
“Mackinac Island welcomes more than a million visitors each year, and they deserve to know that the tickets they purchase online will get them onto the ferry and into popular attractions,” Nessel said. “My office remains committed to pursuing bad actors who attempt to take advantage of Michigan residents and visitors.”
The MTVRS website fortmackinactickets.com allegedly mimics the official website that sells Fort Mackinac tickets, which are sold by a governmental agency responsible for park preservation on mackinacparks.com. According to the notice, the MTVRS website uses a misleading logo and charges marked-up prices. While the MTVRS website does contain a disclosure that the website is not connected with the Fort, that disclosure appears far down the page, well after multiple opportunities to purchase tickets, and allegedly fails to meet requirements under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.
A separate website operated by MTVRS, mackinacticketing.com, allegedly misleads consumers looking to purchase ferry tickets to Mackinac Island by copying the schedule information and address for Shepler’s Ferry, creating the impression that tickets are being purchased directly from Shepler’s official website, sheplersferry.com. The notice also contends that MTVRS charges an additional $7.95 fee before using the customer’s payment information to purchase tickets from Shepler’s official website.
Both the operators of Fort Mackinac and Shepler’s Ferry have reported multiple incidents in recent weeks of visitors arriving with only an email from MTVRS suggesting a purchase has been made, which is not valid for entry onto the ferry or into the Fort.
MTVRS has until October 6 to take down or change the websites to comply with Michigan law and meet with the Department of Attorney General to explore an agreement for voluntary assurance of compliance. Failure to do so may result in litigation and civil fines.
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