Check Your Email: Ticketmaster to Send Free Tickets to Settle Class Action Lawsuit

Ticketmaster has recently settled a class action lawsuit that could result in many of its users receiving voucher codes for free tickets. This settlement affects 50 million people.

The Ticketmaster Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by five Ticketmaster customers, alleging that Ticketmaster’s Order Processing fees and UPS Expedited Delivery fees were excessive and deceptive. The suit claimed that Ticketmaster violated California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”) and California’s False Advertising Law (“FAL”). The class included any customer who purchased tickets from Ticketmaster between October 21, 1999 and February 27, 2013.

The parties were able to reach a settlement agreement. The agreement expressly states that, by settling, Ticketmaster is resolving all controversies related to the complaint, but not admitting liability to any allegations within the complaint. The court reviewed the agreement, held a hearing on whether to approve it, and entered a final approval order. 

Under the court-approved settlement agreement, Ticketmaster will issue approximately $386 million in discount codes to the class. The discount codes are valid for four years. If class members do not use at least $42 million worth of codes, Ticketmaster will also make free tickets for certain events available to class members. Ticketmaster will begin issuing the free tickets one year after the discount codes are first issued if less than $10.5 million in discount codes have been redeemed.

Did You Receive a Notice for Discount Codes and Free Tickets?

Members of the class should have received an email titled “Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster Class Action Settlement — Notice Regarding Discount and Ticket Codes,” which contained instructions on how to redeem the discount codes and free tickets. You can also check eligibility by signing on to your Ticketmaster account and clicking on the “Active Vouchers” button on the side bar. Each class member can potentially receive up to 17 discount codes for tickets worth $2.25 and vouchers for free tickets to events. If you had your tickets delivered by UPS, you can receive an additional $5 discount code per transaction that can be applied to future UPS charges. You can combine up to two codes on a single purchase.

Customers should receive one free voucher for every purchase made during the period covered by the lawsuit. The vouchers will not be valid for every Ticketmaster event, but should be valid for approximately 60% of the company’s productions. Ticketmaster created a dedicated website for class members that will be used to notify class members when new tickets become available.

As part of the settlement, Ticketmaster modified the language on its website to disclose that its order-processing and delivery charges may include a profit for the company. 

In 2011, Ticketmaster changed its Terms of Use to require its customers to settle all disputes through arbitration.  Now, when you purchase a ticket at Ticketmaster.com, “you agree to waive any right to a jury trial or to participate in a class action.”