Ticketmaster to reimburse $6 million to Canadians for deceptive pricing in class-action lawsuit

Ticketmaster has settled a class-action lawsuit, agreeing to compensate nearly one million people in Canada who had bought tickets through the online platform in 2018. All customers who bought event tickets via Ticketmaster in 2018 are eligible for compensation.

‘Drip pricing’

The $6-million settlement was finalised on January 15 at Regina's Court of King's Bench. The matter relates to allegations of deceptive pricing practices, especially “drip pricing,” where unexpected fees were added to ticket prices.


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The online ticketing giant was taken to court by Crystal Watch, which accused it of violating The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act. The case never went to trial, as Ticketmaster agreed to settle out of court, even though it refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing on its part, CBC reported.

‘Legitimate consumer protection lawsuit’

In a written decision, Justice Graeme Mitchell, who had overseen the case, stated that affected customers were eligible to receive up to $45 for future ticket purchases. While this credit is transferable, it can only be used once.

“While this case does not involve a mega-settlement, it has proved to be a legitimate consumer protection lawsuit which could only have been viably prosecuted as a class action. Class counsel deserve an economic incentive for pursuing this claim to its successful resolution,” CBS quoted Mitchell as saying.

Who is eligible?

Only those customers who had bought tickets through the online platform for Canadian events between January 1 and June 30, 2018, are eligible for compensation. However, those in Quebec, as well as any Ticketmaster employees, were ineligible for any compensation.

Lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm represented the plaintiffs, earlier informed that up to 100,000 people in Saskatchewan, along with nearly one million people across Canada, were eligible for the credit.

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Out of the $6-million settlement, $1,725,000 will be deducted as legal fees for the lawyers, while the remaining amount ($4.3 million) will be allocated to customer credits.

To receive their credit, all eligible Ticketmaster users will soon receive an email from the company that will provide them with a link to claim their credit.

FAQs

1. What to do if Ticketmaster does not send email to eligible customers for credit?
Eligible customers, who fail to receive any email from Ticketmaster, have been advised to get in touch with Tony Merchant's firm for future course of action.

2. How much will Ticketmaster pay as settlement in class-action lawsuit?
The online ticketing giant has agreed to compensate over $6 million to all the eligible Canadian users after being reportedly accused of deceptive business practices.