The Superior Court of Quebec has just authorized a class action against the American platform Ticketmaster, which is accused of hiding information when it resells tickets on the secondary market, in particular for shows or Canadian matches.
“This puts consumers at a disadvantage,” laments Joey Zukran of LPC Avocat, responsible for the class action. “He refuses to change their practice. It’s quite brave on their part, despite the situation, ”he continues.
The latter indicates that the problem lies in the fact that the platform sells tickets on the primary market as well as on the secondary market (resale) by demanding higher prices without “clearly” providing information on the initial price of the tickets.
The application filed in June 2021 accuses Ticketmaster of violating the Consumer Protection Act.
The class action is seeking punitive damages of $500 and compensatory damages, the amount of which has yet to be determined. The overall bill for Ticketmaster is not yet known.
All people or merchants who have purchased a ticket on the platform since June 6, 2018 will be able to take part in this process. It could affect tens of thousands of customers.
Tickets for the Canadian
Court documents mention the case of Canadiens fan Steve Abihsira, who paid $1,675.80 to purchase two tickets on the resale market for a Habs playoff game against the Vegas Golden Knights. at the Bell Center.
When he bought it, the Montrealer claims that Ticketmaster would have implied that the price on the primary market per ticket was $650. However, on his ticket, it was indicated $350 per seat.
He is of the opinion that the company “fools buyers on the secondary market, by creating confusion as to the true initial list price”.
For its part, Ticketmaster disputes the idea that this is a late disclosure of information. The company says to provide this information to the purchaser before the resale contract is concluded.
Affected customers will receive an email from the US company within the next few months notifying them.
Ticketmaster’s parent company is Live Nation Entertainment which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.