Less than two weeks after Drake announced It’s All A Blur Tour, Ticketmaster is facing legal action over allegations of artificially inflating prices for “Official Platinum” tickets.
A Law Firm Argues The ‘Official Platinum’ Tickets Are ‘Just Regular Tickets’
According to the Toronto Star, a Montreal-based law firm called LPC Avocat Inc. is accusing the platform of “intentionally mislead[ing] consumers for their own financial gain.”
The law firm alleges that its client purchased two “Official Platinum” tickets for nearly $800 each to catch Drake’s Montreal show on July 14. However, after another show was added for July 15 the very next day, the man saw that same seats were about $350 cheaper.
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As a result, the law firm says that Ticketmaster’s “Official Platinum” tickets are “an artificially inflated premium” that are “neither ‘premium tickets’ nor ‘some of the best seats in the house.'”
“Ticketmaster unilaterally decides which tickets it advertises and sells as ‘Official Platinum’ based on a given event. The result is that most, if not all, of the tickets advertised and sold as ‘Official Platinum’ are neither ‘premium tickets’ nor ‘some of the best seats in the house’ and are, in fact, just regular tickets sold by Ticketmaster at an artificially inflated premium in bad faith.”
Additionally, Ticketmaster is accused of intentionally keeping the second Montreal show under wraps in order to “squeeze out” as much money as possible from fans.
This class-action lawsuit, which has not yet been approved by the Quebec Superior Court, seeks “compensatory damages in the aggregate amount of the difference between the prices charged for ‘Official Platinum’ tickets and what their regular price ought to have been.”
Additionally, the law firm seeks punitive damages of $300 per customer.
Ticketmaster Has Been In Hot Water Lately
While on the subject, we should note that Ticketmaster’s been getting quite the bad rap online lately.
Back in late 2022, the Attorney General of Tennessee—Jonathan Skrmetti—launched an investigation into the platform’s presale for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, as The Shade Room previously reported.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is concerned about consumer complaints related to @Ticketmaster’s pre-sale of @taylorswift13 concert tickets. He and his Consumer Protection team will use every available tool to ensure that no consumer protection laws were violated.
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) November 16, 2022
Months later, shortly after Beyoncé announced the Renaissance World Tour, the United States Senate ominously warned that they were “watching” Ticketmaster.
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We’re watching, @Ticketmaster. https://t.co/LuWjoXrWX4
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) February 2, 2023
What do you think about the overall situation?