Ticketmaster's practice of adding non-optional fees to
advertised ticket prices will cost the group (consisting of
Ticketmaster L.L.C., TNow Entertainment Group, Inc. and
Ticketmaster Canada LP) $4.5 million in a settlement reached with the Competition
Bureau.
The Bureau alleged that non-optional fees added to ticket prices
by Ticketmaster raised prices by 20-65% in an
application filed in the Competition Tribunal in 2018.
Ticketmaster has agreed to stop drip pricing and to pay an
administrative monetary penalty (fine) of $4 million plus $500,000
in costs as part of a settlement.
Drip Pricing
Ticketmaster's non-optional fees are an example of what is
called "drip pricing." Drip pricing involves drawing
consumers in by offering a low price, then raising that price by
adding non-optional charges and fees. The non-optional charges and
fees make the initially-advertised low price unattainable.
