Find yourself irked by a litany of additional fees tacked on when you buy concert tickets online? Us too. A few especially testy fans finally brought suit against TicketMaster in particular and has earned kickbacks for users everywhere. The site will pay nearly $400 million in reparation credits to up to 50 million ticket buyers.
The settlement has been a long time coming. The five plaintiffs alleged in 2003 that TicketMaster had misled buyers with its "order-processing" and "convenience" fees. Turns out that the company didn't actually spend any money on said services, but was rather making an easy profit. This is where the legal technicalities get somewhat confusing: The plaintiffs acknowledged that services such as "convenience fees" and "facility fees" were also profit-centers, but it seems the site was more clear in labeling them as such, which hadn't happened with the aforementioned charges.
As a result of the lawsuit, TicketMaster has added wording to clarify what's going on with said-charges. So no, your tickets probably won't get cheaper as a result. However, the settlement will result in up to 161 million credits worth $2.25 given to ticket buyers and another 4.9 million credits worth $5. How you prove that you were someone who bought a ticket in the last 15 years is beyond us, but hey: Get that paper (meant to be a double entendre).
Many sites have learned from TicketMaster's gaffes. StubHub, for example, offers "all-in" pricing so that the price you see is the one you end up paying. Again, doesn't necessarily mean you're saving money, but at least it's honest about it.
The plaintiff's lawyers are looking at $15 million in fees however. Their client's better start racking up those credits quick.
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