Ticketmaster fined $4.5 million for misleading sales practices

Ticketmaster is facing a hefty fine from Canada’s Competition Bureau as a result of misleading pricing for its online ticket sales.

The company has to pay a fine of $4.5 million broken down as a $4 million penalty and $500,000 for the bureau’s investigation costs.

Read More: Machine Gun Kelly unveils nostalgic ‘Hotel Diablo’ album artwork

Ticketmaster LLC, TNow Entertainment Group Inc. and Ticketmaster Canada LP are being fined as of today.

“Our investigation concluded that Ticketmaster’s advertised prices were not attainable because they added mandatory fees during the later stages of the purchasing process,” the bureau wrote on Twitter. “Within 30 days, the companies shall comply with the Deceptive Marketing Practices Provisions of the Competition Act.”

The lawsuit started in 2018 when the CCB argued the prices are deceptive due to “mandatory fees” added later in the sale. This method, known as “drip pricing,” has been known to significantly increase ticket costs.

The “mandatory fees” should sound familiar to ticket buyers, including service fees, facility charges and order processing fees. The bureau found out Ticketmaster are inflating their prices by over 20 percent and in some cases more than 65 percent.

Later that year, Ticketmaster faced further issues after reports showed the company were working with ticket resellers to increase their profits. Ticketmaster president Jared Smith denied they were doing that and said they were investigating internally. Then, another lawsuit was filed regarding these allegations.

What do you think of Ticketmaster being fined $4.5 million for their sales practices? Let us know in the comments below.

See More: 10 concert posters from your favorite bands before they blew up

[envira-gallery id=”199143″]