ACCC Orders Ticketek, Ticketmaster to Display Unavoidable Fees in Online Booking Process

Ticketmaster and Ticketek are now required to display the hidden charges of tickets. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has ordered the ticketing companies to include unavoidable fees in the total prices of tickets in the online booking process.

During its investigation of drip feeding charges, the ACCC found instances when companies failed to include unavoidable fees in the ticket prices they advertised on their Web sites. As a result, consumers are forced to pay more than what they had read advertised by the ticketing companies online.

Drip feeding, as defined by the ACCC, is where a headline price is advertised at the beginning of an online purchasing process and additional fees and charges are incrementally disclosed or “dripped.” The additional prices may be unavoidable for the consumers, and as a result, the consumers end up paying much more than the advertised price.

The investigation considered three types of ticketing fees, namely, the payment processing fee, Ticketek’s service/delivery fee and Ticketmaster’s handling fee. The payment processing fee was applied to certain events by both Ticketek and Ticketmaster for purchases made by credit or debit card. The service/delivery fee is a per transaction fee applied by Ticketek to certain events, and varies on choice of delivery method. The handling fee by Ticketmaster is applied to certain events.

“Although the law does not prevent traders from charging fees, it does require that they are disclosed clearly to avoid consumers being misled,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. “Drip feeding consumers with hidden charges has the potential to cause detriment to competition and to consumers.”

Ticketmaster and Ticketek have cooperated with the investigation, and have since improved their pricing practices. They now include their minimum payment processing fees into the ticket prices displayed on their Web sites. Ticketmaster also incorporates its handling fee into the total price displayed after consumers have selected the total number of tickets they wish to buy, while Ticketek also now includes its service/delivery fee.

“The steps taken by these ticketing companies should give consumers more clarity up front about the total cost of buying tickets for entertainment events,” Rickard continued.