OTTAWA — The Competition Bureau is taking on Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for allegedly using a deceptive price advertising practice known as drip pricing.

The bureau says in a statement that its investigation shows Ticketmaster’s advertised prices deceived consumers by adding more mandatory fees — like service fees, facility charges or order processing fees — later on in the purchasing process.

The watchdog says this drip pricing caused consumers to pay much higher prices than advertised — often more than 20 per cent higher and sometimes more than 65 per cent more.

It is asking the Competition Tribunal to end the companies’ alleged deceptive marketing practice and make them pay an administrative monetary penalty.

Neither Ticketmaster nor Live Nation immediately responded to a request for comment.

In July, the bureau asked sports and entertainment ticket vendors to review their marketing practices and display the full price up front.

The Canadian Press

Filed under: Competition Bureau, Concert Tickets, Service Fees