Ticketmaster has continued to come under fire as the ongoing pandemic has impacted much of its business. Despite widespread concert postponements and cancellations, Canadian consumers still had access to tickets for impacted events as sales listings had not been removed from the Ticketmaster-owned Ticketweb, among other portals.
A slew of springtime concerts in Toronto and Vancouver that are no longer taking place as scheduled remained for sale on Ticketweb this week, according to the Canadian Press. Tickets for postponed events were also listed on StubHub and Ticketleader with reportedly no indication that the event had been changed. The listings have since been removed, though Ticketmaster has not commented on the issue.
The Canadian event confusion is the latest in a string of criticism to hit Ticketmaster in recent weeks. The site, along with parent company Live Nation, drew the ire of consumers and lawmakers alike for its now-defunct refund policy that only issued refunds for events that had been cancelled outright. Both U.S. and Canadian lawmakers called for revisions to the policy before Live Nation rolled out a new plan that will admit refunds for events that have confirmed make-up dates, though fans will only have a 30-day window to request a refund if their event was rescheduled.
“There are general laws to say that you cannot do deceptive practices where you know that you’re offering consumers a contract that you cannot deliver,” University of Victoria economics professor Pascal Courty told the Canadian Press. “Ticketmaster is creating a huge mess because once the event is cancelled, knowing how much you’re going to give back to these people, it’s going to be difficult.”
Consumers have expressed their frustrations across social media, with some even filing lawsuits against the company for its policy that alleges Ticketmaster holds profits on unused tickets. Two New Yorkers sued Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Major League Baseball and other partners in demand for refunds to games that are unplayed this spring due to the season’s delay. A California resident also filed a lawsuit regarding refunds for April Rage Against the Machine concerts that have been indefinitely postponed.
