Regina law firm looking at Ticketmaster practices

Regina’s Merchant Law Group is currently in the midst of a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster for reportedly increasing the prices of tickets in a variety of ways.

Lawyer Tony Merchant said the online ticket company holds back tickets to give the appearance the event is nearly sold out, which generates higher prices, and it also runs a second-sale process.

“They know that scalpers are buying large numbers of tickets with bots, they don’t do anything to stop that then the tickets get sold again and Ticketmaster profits a second time,” Merchant said.

The Ticketmaster claim was filed by Merchant Law on March 7, 2018.

Back in January, the Competition Bureau called into question a few of the business practices of Ticketmaster as well.

Canadian media outlets published an investigative piece into Ticketmaster’s pricing practices on Tuesday. Merchant said he was aware of the investigation and while it helps bring attention to it, he said the law firm was doing its own as well.

“We’re able to have some sense in the way they market just from the very many people who have gone to the Merchant Law website and given us information,” Merchant said. “We’ve done the same kind of thing that’s been done in this investigation.”

He said the people who lose money are the paying customers, with everyone else in the industry benefiting from price increases.

“If you think about it, the performers are happy because the performers then have prices go up,” Merchant said, noting if the sense is that a ticket is worth $400 when it’s only worth $100, the performer can come back the next time and make the base price $200.

He said his firm is seeking compensation for the people who have contacted them and they want societal change.

“We want what Ticketmaster and perhaps others in the industry are doing to stop and the court’s investigation will make it impossible for them to continue to do these wrong things.”

980 CJME has reached out to Ticketmaster for comment.