LANSING, MI – Visitors are showing up to Fort Mackinac and Shepler’s Ferry with nothing but email confirmations from a Texas company that claims to sell tickets.
The company has been warned to cease and desist or face a lawsuit for its alleged deceptive ticketing practices targeting Mackinac Island visitors, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
MTVRS, of Texas, is accused of operating two websites that seek to dupe visitors by mimicking official websites that sell tickets to Fort Mackinac and Shepler’s Ferry. Nessel says they mislead consumers into believing they are purchasing official tickets.
Operators of both Fort Mackinac and Shepler’s Ferry have recently reported multiple incidents 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.
“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.”
USA Today recently named Mackinac Island the No. 1 Best Place to Visit for Fall for the first time, and the No. 1 Best Summer Travel Destination for the third year in a row.
RELATED: Mackinac Island named best fall travel destination in U.S.
RELATED: Triple Crown: Mackinac Island named Best Summer Travel Destination – again
MTVRS was told to take down or change its websites, fortmackinactickets.com and mackinacticketing.com, by Oct. 6 or face an injunction and fines under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.
Fortmackinactickets.com allegedly mimics the official website that sells Fort Mackinac tickets, 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, it 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.