Ticketmaster class-action settlement to reimburse 1M Canadians for deceptive fees
People who bought event tickets through Ticketmaster in 2018 are now eligible for compensation.
A $6-million settlement that could see around a million Canadians eligible for a credit with Ticketmaster was finalized last week at Regina's Court of King's Bench.
The lawsuit, launched by plaintiff Crystal Watch, took Ticketmaster to court for hiding the prices of ticket fees in 2018. Ticketmaster refused to agree to any wrongdoing on their part, but the case never went to trial and the company agreed to settle.
The suit was overseen by Justice Graeme Mitchell. He wrote in the published decision that affected customers are eligible to receive up to $45 in Ticketmaster credit to be used toward future ticket purchases. The credit is transferable, but can only be used once.
Watch, who acted as the representative plaintiff, received an honorarium of $25,000, paid from the settlement amount.
The settlement was finazlized at Regina's Court of King's Bench on Jan. 15. (Chris Edwards/CBC)
The class action case claimed that Ticketmaster engaged in unfair "drip pricing," where unnecessary fees outside the regular ticket price were deceptively added to the total price. The lawsuit said this breached The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act.
In order to be eligible, customers need to have purchased tickets through Ticketmaster for Canadian events between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2018. Customers in Quebec and any Ticketmaster employees aren't eligible for compensation.
Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm represented the plaintiffs, previously said he believes up to 100,000 people in Saskatchewan and about a million people across Canada could be eligible for a credit.
Eligible Ticketmaster users should get an email shortly from Ticketmaster with a link to receive their credit.
If a Ticketmaster user who is eligible for credit doesn't receive it, Merchant said they can contact his firm.
How the money is being distributed
The lawsuit resulted in a $6-million settlement, out of which lawyers will take $1,725,000 in fees due to the case being a class action lawsuit. This will leave Ticketmaster users with $4.3-million to be distributed between people affected.
"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," the judge said in a written decision. "Class counsel deserve an economic incentive for pursuing this claim to its successful resolution."
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