Worst Company In America Round 3: Bank Of America Vs. Ticketmaster

For several years now, these two terrible titans of industry have been locks to make the Worst Company semifinals. But in a year with so many bad businesses in contention, only one of these perennial favorites will make it through to the next round.

It would be hard to deny that Bank of America is the heavy favorite in this quarter of the WCIA bracket. Not only has the now-second-largest bank in the country devoured digested and used its competitors to fertilize the tomato garden, BofA has also picked up steam.

In Round One, BofA put a steel-toed boot straight into the kidneys of Chase — the financial institution that actually usurped the U.S. banking throne — by winning with more than 82% of the vote. An impressive feat to be sure, but not as impressive as the way BofA threw Citibank into the WCIA wood-chipper and walked away with an astounding 87.14% of the vote in Round Two.

But much in the same way that ticket-buyers tend to not think of Ticketmaster’s exorbitant fees when buying balcony seats to see Britney Spears, they often forget about that company’s propensity for pushing consumers’ buttons.

How else do you explain Ticketmaster’s 60.58% Round One triumph over school loan dis-servicer Sallie Mae? Or the way it managed to secure more than 80% of the vote in its second-round bout against Spirit Airlines, in spite of a top Ticketmaster exec asking employees to vote in the competition?

Enough talk. Vote.

(Voting on this poll has now closed. Thanks to everyone who voted! Check back March 29 to see who made it through to the semifinals)

As we mentioned when announcing the Round 3 contenders, we want to add some suspense to the remaining contests so the results will stay hidden until we post the four victors on the morning of March 29. So be sure to check back Thursday morning to see if your least-favorite made the cut.

If you like competing for free stuff, there’s a sweepstakes on the Consumerist Facebook page that lets you pick who you think will win the Golden Poo. The prize packages includes the usual T-shirts and coffee mugs, but also our own Laura Northrup will knit you a little something nice. Go HERE for details.

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2012 series. The companies competing for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. See the entire WCIA 2012 bracket and schedule of match-ups HERE.

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