Montreal firm sues Ticketmaster over pricing for ‘Official Platinum’ Drake tickets
Global News
The allegations have not been tested in court, and the Quebec Superior Court has not yet ruled on whether it would allow the class action to move forward.
A Quebec man who paid a premium for tickets to an upcoming Drake concert has applied for a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster, alleging the American ticket sales company intentionally misled customers for financial gain.
Montreal law firm LPC Avocat Inc. says in a filing that the lead plaintiff, described as a huge fan of Drake, purchased a pair of “Official Platinum” tickets for a July 14 show in Montreal for $789.54 each. But the day after he bought the tickets, a second Drake concert was announced in the city and Ticketmaster was selling the same seats for $427.06 each.
The class-action application, filed earlier this week in Laval, Que., just north of Montreal, says Ticketmaster advertised its official platinum tickets as “some of the best seats in the house,” but the lawsuit says the seats secured by the plaintiff were in the upper deck of the Bell Centre — about 13 rows down from the very top of the arena.
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“I think it is illegal to advertise as some of the best seats in the house, tickets that are in fact some of the worst seats in the house and ? charge a premium compared to other seats,” lawyer Joey Zukran with LPC Avocat Inc. said in an interview.
Ticketmaster did not respond Friday to an email seeking comment.
The court filing alleges Ticketmaster unilaterally decides what is sold as “official platinum.”
“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,” the filing reads.
