Ticketmaster has filed a class action lawsuit on charges of inflating ticket prices for Drake’s upcoming tour.
Montreal-based law firm LPC Avocat Inc., specializing in consumer protection, said in a lawsuit that the ticket giant “intentionally misleads consumers for its own financial gain.”
According to documents obtained by the Toronto Star, a man from Montreal bought two “official platinum” seats for Drake’s show at the Bell Centre, which is scheduled to take place on July 14, for US$ 789.54 (£469.46) each. The next day, a second show was allegedly added to Ticketmaster on July 15 with the same seats, which cost $350 (£208.11) less.
LPC Avocat Inc. claimed that Ticketmaster knew in advance that a second Drake show would be added, but “hid” the information in order to “squeeze” as much money out of fans as possible. He also claims that the “official platinum” seats were ordinary seats sold “with an unfair artificially inflated premium.”
“Ticketmaster unilaterally decides which tickets it advertises and sells as “official platinum” based on this event,” the statement to the lawsuit says. “As a result, most, if not all, tickets advertised and sold as “official platinum” are neither “premium class tickets” nor “some of the best seats in the hall”, but in fact are ordinary tickets sold by Ticketmaster at an artificially inflated surcharge in bad faith.”
The firm is demanding “damages in the aggregate amount of the difference between the prices charged for “Official Platinum” tickets and their regular price,” as well as $300 per customer (£178.38) as penalties. LPC Avocat Inc. claimed that Ticketmaster knew in advance that a second Drake show would be added, but “hid” the information in order to “squeeze” as much money out of fans as possible. He also claims that the “official platinum” seats were ordinary seats sold “with an unfair artificially inflated premium.”
“Ticketmaster unilaterally decides which tickets it advertises and sells as “official platinum” based on this event,” the statement to the lawsuit says. “As a result, most, if not all, tickets advertised and sold as “official platinum” are neither “premium class tickets” nor “some of the best seats in the hall”, but in fact are ordinary tickets sold by Ticketmaster at an artificially inflated surcharge in bad faith.”
The firm is demanding “damages in the aggregate amount of the difference between the prices charged for “Official Platinum” tickets and their regular price,” as well as $300 per customer (£178.38) as penalties.
In the past few months, the ticket giant has often featured in the headlines because of its controversial “sharp pricing” scheme, which was introduced last year and which inflates ticket prices depending on demand.
The company was recently criticized for the way it handled ticket sales for The Cure’s North American tour. The band refused to raise prices to lower costs for fans, but ticket buyers reported that the fees charged by Ticketmaster were higher than the ticket price itself.
Frontman Robert Smith said he was “sick” of their actions, and later reported that he had turned to the ticket sales system to refund a small amount to fans who bought tickets.
Neil Young also spoke out about the fiasco yesterday, writing on his website: “It’s over. The old days are gone. I receive letters accusing me of paying $3,000 for charitable activities. This money does not go either to me or to my benefit.”
A group of Taylor Swift fans also filed a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster for pre-selling the “Eras” tour, during which thousands of fans reported long waiting times, website outages and excessively inflated prices on resale sites (including the Ticket Master). The ticket company later admitted that before canceling the general sale, it faced “historically unprecedented demand” from Swift fans.
