Ticketmaster is under investigation over allegations that it used “drip pricing” by advertising an appealing ticket price up front, then adding mandatory charges—often described as service or convenience fees—later in the checkout process. Investigators are examining whether buyers were effectively prevented from seeing the true, all-in price until they were already committed to the purchase flow, a practice that can mislead consumers and distort price comparisons across sellers and events. The inquiry focuses on purchases made during a defined window (May 12, 2022 to May 12, 2025) and whether Ticketmaster’s disclosures complied with state consumer-protection rules requiring pricing to be clear and not deceptive.

The investigation was initiated because attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe these fee-disclosure practices may violate state unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) statutes by failing to present the full cost “upfront” in a clear, timely way. Rather than a traditional class action, the effort is being organized as mass arbitration—where many individuals bring similar claims in arbitration at the same time—often used when companies’ terms include arbitration clauses or class-action waivers. The alleged harm is not just the added dollars in fees, but the loss of transparent pricing that consumers rely on when deciding whether to buy, with potential individual claims estimated to range from tens of dollars to much more depending on state-law remedies and purchase circumstances.

The Ticketmaster probe fits a broader wave of “junk fee” and hidden-charge investigations across ticketing, subscription services, and consumer finance, including parallel scrutiny of ticket platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek and fee practices in other industries where charges appear late in the transaction. Industry-wide, regulators have increasingly targeted drip pricing as a marketplace integrity problem, and the Federal Trade Commission’s junk-fee rule—effective May 2025—reflects that shift by aiming to curb the practice of advertising one price while requiring consumers to pay more through mandatory add-ons revealed only at checkout, even as similar allegations continue to be tested through ongoing consumer actions and arbitrations

Defendant Companies: Ticketmaster, Santander Consumer USA, American Credit Acceptance (ACA), Credit Acceptance Corporation, DriveTime, Bridgecrest Credit Company, Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS), GM Financial (AmeriCredit Financial Services), Uber (Uber One / Uber Eats), Westlake Financial, StubHub, MySchoolBucks, SeatGeek

Alleged Violations: Deceptive fee disclosures / failure to disclose total price upfront, Drip pricing / junk fees / hidden mandatory charges added later in checkout, Unlawful processing/convenience fees on online or phone loan payments not clearly disclosed or authorized, Violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Violations of state consumer protection laws (unfair/deceptive acts and practices), Potential violations of state usury laws (re: undisclosed/illegal loan fees), Violations of New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law (ticket price/fee disclosure requirements), Violations of the New York Health Club Services Act (price cap allegations) (noted as a previous/complete investigation), Violations of California Unfair Competition Law (UCL) (StubHub estimated-fees feature allegations), Violations of California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) (StubHub estimated-fees feature allegations), Deceptive advertising of 'zero delivery fee' while charging delivery-related fees (Uber One / Uber Eats), Deceptive 'negative option' style checkout fee automatically added (G Fuel investigation noted as previous/complete)

Case Status: Under Investigation

Affected Product or Service: Consumer-facing fees and pricing practices, including ticketing platform fees (service/convenience/fulfillment), auto-loan online/phone payment processing fees, subscription delivery benefits (Uber One/Uber Eats), and transaction fees for school meal account funding (MySchoolBucks)

Jurisdiction: Various state consumer-protection regimes and specific state statutes (e.g., New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law; North Carolina law re: excessive transaction fees; California UCL/CLRA); matters are being pursued as mass arbitrations rather than a single court case

Lead Law Firm: Milberg, LLC

Eligibility Requirements: Ticketmaster customers who bought tickets between May 12, 2022 and May 12, 2025 and allegedly saw fees added later in checkout, Santander Consumer USA auto-loan borrowers (current or within the past year) who paid via the Santander online payment portal and were charged a processing fee, American Credit Acceptance (ACA) auto-loan borrowers (current or within the past year) who made an online payment within the last year and were charged a processing/phone fee not clearly disclosed, Credit Acceptance Corporation auto-loan borrowers (current or within the past year) who made payments via the online portal/phone (often with debit/ATM card) and were charged a processing fee, DriveTime borrowers whose loans were serviced by Bridgecrest Credit Company and who made an online payment in the past year and were charged processing/convenience fees, Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS) auto-loan borrowers who used the online payment portal within the last year and were charged a processing fee, GM Financial (AmeriCredit/GM Financial) borrowers age 18+ who made an online auto-loan payment within the past year and were charged processing fees, Uber One subscribers who ordered deliveries through Uber Eats in the past three years and allegedly paid hidden delivery-related fees despite a promised $0 delivery fee, Westlake Financial auto-loan borrowers who used the online portal to pay (e.g., by debit card) within the last year and were charged an undisclosed processing fee, StubHub purchasers who bought tickets on or after Aug. 29, 2022 for an event in New York State and allegedly were shown fees only after selecting tickets (residency not required), MySchoolBucks users who live in North Carolina and paid credit-card transaction/program fees to add funds to student meal accounts anytime since 2021, SeatGeek users who bought tickets while living in New York or for a New York event between June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2024 and allegedly paid more at checkout due to added fees, California residents who bought tickets on StubHub.com between June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2024 after using the “include estimated fees” filter and allegedly were charged higher fees than shown

Source: https://www.classaction.org/illegal-hidden-junk-fees/