Consumers from several states in March sued Ticketmaster and its owner, Live Nation, for showing a lower price for event tickets upfront but hiding the true higher price of them until deep into the buying process. (See complaint.)
In its scheme, Ticketmaster uses a deceptively low upfront price to lure consumers into the purchase flow for tickets—the bait. Then, once Ticketmaster has lured Plaintiffs and consumers like them into the transaction with a deceptively low price, Ticketmaster adds exorbitant junk fees (in unpredictable amounts) after Plaintiffs and consumers had already relied on the low advertised price and made the decision to buy. In other words, only after a consumer has invested time choosing an event, selected their specific tickets, made the decision to purchase those tickets based on the low advertised price, and clicked through a multi-page purchase process, do Defendants reveal the hefty mandatory fees that will be added to the total ticket prices—the switch.
The lawsuit provided an example of a California consumer going through the purchase process of two tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters.
The consumer searches Ticketmaster and finds that the cheapest seats are $32 each.
He then goes through a process of picking the specific seats, and the site shows a subtotal, and only in tiny print does it say “+ fees.” However, if one clicked the fees link, it would not state the specific amount of those fees.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The consumer is then asked to sign in and sees a countdown clock with only eight minutes on it during which time the transaction must be completed. Then a total screen comes up showing $112.06 for his two tickets. At least when MrConsumer went to school, $32 times two is $64.
There is no mention of what the fees were for or the specific amounts unless you click the down arrow to the right of the total.
Now you finally see there are services charges, facility fees, order processing charges, and tax, which combined almost double the price of the tickets being purchased. All this time the countdown clock is running and many ticket buyers who have now invested substantial time and effort in the process may just pull the trigger.
In some states, ticket sellers have been required to show “all-in” pricing for years. But as of May 5, that is now the law of the land since the Federal Trade Commission’s new rule on hidden fees went into effect.
Ticketmaster is now complying nationwide as noted below, but they highlight a mandatory arbitration clause to prevent future lawsuits!
