- A Canadian law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster on behalf of anyone who bought "Official Platinum" seats.
- The firm alleges Ticketmaster "intentionally misleads consumers for their own financial gain," the Toronto Star reports.
Tickets for Canadian rapper Drake's It's All a Blur tour, his first in four years, caused a frenzy online as fans rushed to secure seats last Friday during the general public release.
Now, a Montreal law firm is filing a class-action lawsuit against ticket seller Ticketmaster, alleging the platform "intentionally misleads consumers for their own financial gain," according to the Toronto Star.
Legal firm LPC Avocat Inc. says a local man purchased two "Official Platinum" seats for the July 14 show in Montreal's Bell Centre for about $790 each. The next day, a second show was added at the same venue on July 15, and tickets for the same seats were listed for nearly $400 less, culture publication Fader reported.
The firm argues that the move was intentional on Ticketmaster's part and is seeking "compensatory damages in the aggregate amount of the difference between the prices charged for 'Official Platinum' tickets and what their regular price ought to have been" and $300 per customer in punitive damages.
The firm's class action application awaits approval by the Quebec Superior Court.
"Ticketmaster unilaterally decides which tickets it advertises and sells as 'Official Platinum' based on a given event," reads the application for the class action suit, per the Toronto Star.
It continued: "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."
Fans of the "God's Plan" rapper took to social media to complain and joke about the soaring prices following the release of the highly coveted tickets. While most stuck to memes, some called out Ticketmaster for costly fees.
—Mr. Morale (@ToureDeTrap) March 16, 2023
Just days before the outrage from Drake fans, Ticketmaster announced it would refund those who bought tickets to see rock band The Cure after lead singer Robert Smith said he was "sickened" by the ticketing platform's fees.
The site already is under scrutiny from the public and an investigation by the Department of Justice after a ticketing meltdown during the sale of Taylor Swift's Eras tour tickets.
Some Swift fans also hit Ticketmaster with a class action lawsuit over the chaotic rollout that left some Swifties unable to buy tickets.
Ticketmaster didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.