Class Action Suit Forces Ticketmaster To Offer Credits

Ticketmaster will issue monetary credits to consumers after losing a class action lawsuit which claimed its shipping and processing fees are excessive.

Consumers who made purchases on Ticketmaster.com between Oct. 21, 1999 and Oct. 19, 2011, are eligible for credits. Email notices to these users are expected to be sent this week.

The company faces a minimum payment of $11.25 million per year over the four-year life of the settlement.

According to details of the settlement at www.ticketfeelitigation.com:

You [customers] will receive, via email, at the address associated with your Ticketmaster account, discount codes (“Codes”) which can be used for future purchases for U.S. events from Ticketmaster’s website. For each transaction (up to a maximum of 17 transactions) that you made during the Class Period, you will receive one code, via email, for a $1.50 discount off future transactions.

If you are also a member of the UPS Subclass, you will be entitled to additional discounts off future delivery fees. Specifically, for each transaction (up to a maximum of 17 transactions) made using UPS delivery, you will receive one UPS code via email, for a $5.00 discount off future expedited delivery fees.

Credits cannot be used for events at venues operated by competitor A.E.G. Live.

In a statement, Ticketmaster emphasized that it was not admitting to any wrongdoing through the lawsuit agreement. The company can continue to charge processing fees, but must now state on its website that it is profiting by doing so.