Nearly one million Canadians are set to receive reimbursements following the final approval of a class-action lawsuit settlement against Ticketmaster over the deceptive practice known as “drip pricing.” The settlement, which totals $6 million, was finalized January 15 at Regina’s Court of King’s Bench.

According to a report by CBC News, individuals who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster for Canadian events between January 1 and June 30, 2018, are eligible for up to $45 in credit to be used toward future ticket purchases. The credit is transferable but may only be used once, and excludes residents of Quebec and any Ticketmaster employees.

The class action suit was brought by plaintiff Crystal Watch, who alleged that Ticketmaster engaged in “drip pricing” by failing to disclose certain fees at the outset of a ticket purchase. Ticketmaster denied any wrongdoing, but the case never went to trial. Watch received an honorarium of $25,000 from the settlement, which was approved by Justice Graeme Mitchell.

Justice Mitchell noted in his written decision that, after lawyers’ fees of $1.725 million are deducted from the $6-million total settlement, $4.3 million remains to be distributed among affected customers.

Drip Pricing in the Spotlight

Drip pricing — the practice of displaying an initial ticket price only to add required fees later in the checkout process — is illegal in Canada, but remains common in the United States. It has been challenged repeatedly in both countries, particularly by consumers who feel misled by “junk” fees that inflate total costs beyond what was initially advertised.

In 2018, Canada’s Competition Bureau pursued its own lawsuit against Ticketmaster for alleged drip pricing, resulting in a $4.5-million settlement in 2019. TicketNews reported on that settlement at the time. Multiple consumer class action lawsuits surrounding drip pricing have also been filed, including one reported by TicketNews in January 2018.

In its review of the marketing practices employed by Ticketmaster, the Competition Bureau found that Ticketmaster’s fees generally inflated the price of tickets by more than 20 percent. In some cases, the fees amounted to more than 60% of the originally stated value.

At the time, Ticketmaster defended such hidden fees as “standard in the ticketing industry,” “transparent, pro-consumer and proper.”

“Ticketmaster never suggests or implies that there are no fees associated with a consumer’s purchase. The opposite is true,” it told the Tribunal. “Consumers who purchase tickets online are aware that they will pay fees above the unit price of a ticket.”

Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation Entertainment, has been repeatedly taken to court over fee structures in the past. In the United States, the long-running Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster (filed in 2003) resulted in a settlement in 2013 covering claims of undisclosed “processing” and shipping fees. Consumers affected were awarded vouchers for free or discounted tickets.

Compensation Details and Next Steps

As outlined in the settlement, eligible Ticketmaster users in Canada will receive an email with instructions to claim their credits. Those who believe they qualify but do not receive the notification can contact Regina-based lawyer Tony Merchant’s firm, which represented the plaintiffs, for assistance.

Though the practice of drip pricing remains a major concern south of the border, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently adopted new rules requiring fee transparency in ticketing and other industries, set to go into effect in May. TicketNews has covered this proposed “junk fee” rule extensively, and it is expected to change how secondary fees are disclosed in the American market.

The settlement in Canada, albeit smaller than some other large consumer protection lawsuits, stands as another example of how legal action has placed pressure on the ticketing giant to clearly disclose all fees up front.