Ticket resellers trick consumers into paying hidden fees, lawsuit claims

Attorney Michael Gayan of the Kemp Jones LLP law firm on Thursday filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Vegas.com LLC on behalf of Glendale, California, resident Rachel Cachon, and against SeatGeek Inc. on behalf of Las Vegas resident Mars Carbonell, as well as other similarly situated individuals buying tickets.

In both lawsuits, the defendants are accused of “ambushing consumers purchasing tickets” by enticing them with fee-less offers then charging hidden fees customers were not expecting to pay before the final transaction was made.

The lawsuit refers to the sales process as “drip pricing,” a sales tactic in which a company advertises a product’s price partially, and then reveals additional charges later in the buying process.

“To get consumers to shop on its platform, (they) advertise fee-less ticket prices, string consumers along several checkout screens and continue to represent that artificially low price as consumers input their credit card information, billing information and ticket delivery information,” the lawsuits say.

“Then, on the very final confirmation screen, in tiny gray font, on the right corner of the screen, far away from the ‘COMPLETE BOOKING’ (or ‘Place Order’) button, (they) sneak in a service fee. Because (they) repeatedly represent a fee-less ticket price throughout the entire purchase process, a consumer has no reason to be on the lookout for a tiny gray font fee that is hidden in plain sight on the final confirmation page, after the consumer has already input credit card, billing and delivery information.”

SeatGeek responds

A representative of SeatGeek sent an emailed statement late Tuesday.

“We’re not able to provide comment on ongoing litigation, but SeatGeek remains committed to providing fans shopping on SeatGeek the choice to see prices, including fees, before selecting their seat,” a spokesperson said. “We’ve consistently supported consumer-friendly transparency measures, and we continue to strongly support price transparency legislation at the state and federal level.”

A representative of Vegas.com did not respond to a request for comment.

“In the context of a Vegas magic show, such a sleight-of-hand would likely get met with applause,” both lawsuits say. “But in the context of an online transaction, it tricks consumers into paying fees they never noticed and never agreed to, in violation of various Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act provisions.”

Chacon’s lawsuit against Vegas.com said on Sept. 11, she purchased two tickets for the Sept. 29 Penn & Teller show at the Rio. The lawsuit did not disclose how much more the tickets cost than she expected, but that because of the “drip pricing,” she was not able to shop other sites for a better deal.

Carbonell’s lawsuit said he purchased tickets from SeatGeek for the Sept. 13, 2023, Maluma concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena. That lawsuit indicated the fee added on was 35 percent higher than the promised price.

Both lawsuits had computer screenshots showing Vegas.com’s and SeatGeek’s purchase screens.

Both lawsuits have two-count allegations for a national class as well as a Nevada subclass involving violations of Nevada Revised Statutes.

Both lawsuits seek an order to form a civil class action, an order that the two parties violated Nevada law, compensatory and statutory damages determined by the court or jury, prejudgment interest on all amounts, an order of restitution on all monetary relief and attorney’s fees.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.