Photo Credit: Nainoa Shizuru

Ticketmaster has agreed to pay $6 million CAD to settle a class action lawsuit in Canada over "drip pricing" practices, where additional fees were allegedly hidden until checkout. The settlement was finalized in a Saskatchewan court.

The lawsuit claimed that in 2018, Ticketmaster violated the Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act by deceptively adding fees beyond the advertised ticket price. While not admitting wrongdoing, Ticketmaster agreed to the settlement terms.

Eligible customers who purchased tickets in Canada between January 1, 2018, and June 30, 2018, can receive up to $45 in Ticketmaster credit. The company will distribute electronic, transferrable gift cards via email to qualified participants, estimated to include up to 100,000 Saskatchewan residents and over a million Canadians.

Key settlement details:

• Total settlement: $6 million CAD
• Maximum individual credit: $45
• Attorney fees: $1.7 million
• Lead plaintiff compensation: $25,000
• Remaining funds will go to court-approved organizations

This settlement follows a similar 2019 case where the Competition Bureau of Canada fined Ticketmaster $4 million for misleading pricing practices. Commissioner Matthew Boswell emphasized that "Canadians should be able to trust the prices advertised are the ones they will pay when purchasing tickets online."

The Saskatchewan Court of King's Bench Justice Graeme Mitchell noted that while not a mega-settlement, this case represents an important consumer protection victory that could only have been achieved through class action.

Related Articles

Previous Articles