Ticketmaster is an American ticket sales and distribution company, which after merging with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertainment in January 2010, officially became the leading ticket outlet in North America and overseas.
Ticketmaster is being sued for its never-refunded order processing fees conflict Live Nation has also taken on through the merge. U.S. customers who paid these fees while purchasing from the site between October 1999 and February 2013 and were not refunded are being offered free tickets and other vouchers.
The offers originate from class-action lawsuits, first filled in 2003, claiming Ticketmaster was charging “excessive and deceptive” fees. So, there’s no need to automatically “trash” emails from Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster Settlement Administrator; it isn’t a spam. By receiving one of these emails, you’re one of the millions of people eligible to receive compensation from this company.
Buyers will be receiving settlement in the form of discount codes, a method which has raised some criticism. The discount codes will be capped at a certain amount regardless of whether one customer purchased a significantly more amount of tickets than another. Customers who used UPS to deliver their tickets during that time period will be given one $5.00 discount code per transaction off a future UPS charge.
Class members are far from satisfied with the settlement, and Ticketmaster has said it “denies any fault or liability, or any charges of wrongdoing that have been or could have been asserted” throughout the case.
In total, Ticketmaster and Live Nation are giving away over $400 million worth of vouchers and discount codes. Seen in an FAQ from ticketfeelitigation.com, Live Nation has sole discretion in deciding which events the vouchers can be redeemed at.
Ticketmaster has now clarified on its site that delivery and order processing charges include a profit for the company, resulting in further transparency for ticket buyers in the future.