There could be even more legal trouble on the horizon for Ticketmaster, following an announcement Monday (March 2) that Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley is launching a probe into company's sale practices.
"More and more Ontarians are increasingly concerned about fair access to tickets at a fair price," CBC quotes Bentley as saying. "At the end of the day, we want assurances that Ontarians and Ontario families are being treated fairly."
As previously reported, the ticket giant has recently been accused of conspiring to sell tickets at inflated prices by diverting customers to its resale site TicketsNow before they have a chance to buy tickets at face value. This has lead to numerous consumer complaints - most recently with buying tickets for Leonard Cohen's upcoming Canadian tour - and a $500-million class-action lawsuit, which was filed against Ticketmaster in February.
In his announcement, Bentley did not say whether the province would seek compensation for consumers, but the attorney general did say he wanted to "explore" the allegations against Ticketmaster and hopes his officials will provide him with possible policy changes.
And while Bentley did not reveal what those changes might be, he said his ministry is looking at the agreement reached last week between Ticketmaster and the state of New Jersey. In that settlement, Ticketmaster agreed to pay out $350,000 to compensate ticket holders of a Bruce Springsteen show who said they were unfairly redirected to TicketsNow and paid inflated prices. However, Ticketmaster did not admit to any wrongdoing in the case.
Ticketmaster also insists it has done nothing illegal in Canada.
"More and more Ontarians are increasingly concerned about fair access to tickets at a fair price," CBC quotes Bentley as saying. "At the end of the day, we want assurances that Ontarians and Ontario families are being treated fairly."
As previously reported, the ticket giant has recently been accused of conspiring to sell tickets at inflated prices by diverting customers to its resale site TicketsNow before they have a chance to buy tickets at face value. This has lead to numerous consumer complaints - most recently with buying tickets for Leonard Cohen's upcoming Canadian tour - and a $500-million class-action lawsuit, which was filed against Ticketmaster in February.
In his announcement, Bentley did not say whether the province would seek compensation for consumers, but the attorney general did say he wanted to "explore" the allegations against Ticketmaster and hopes his officials will provide him with possible policy changes.
And while Bentley did not reveal what those changes might be, he said his ministry is looking at the agreement reached last week between Ticketmaster and the state of New Jersey. In that settlement, Ticketmaster agreed to pay out $350,000 to compensate ticket holders of a Bruce Springsteen show who said they were unfairly redirected to TicketsNow and paid inflated prices. However, Ticketmaster did not admit to any wrongdoing in the case.
Ticketmaster also insists it has done nothing illegal in Canada.
