If you receive an email from Ticketmaster alerting you that you’ve earned free tickets—Don’t delete it!
It’s not spam.
If you have purchased tickets from Ticketmaster any time between October 1999 and February 2013, you could be one of the 50 million Americans eligible to receive vouchers for free and discounted tickets.
So what’s the catch?
There isn’t one.
It’s totally legit.
Ticketmaster was involved in a $386 million class action lawsuit in which they were accused of overcharging customers. As part of the settlement, Ticketmaster is refunding some of the “excessive” service fees by giving away free tickets.
The Settlement:
In 2003, two men who purchased tickets for the Wilco and Bruce Springsteen concerts filed a joint lawsuit arguing that Ticketmaster’s fees were excessive and obscure.
The lawsuit was later granted class-action status, and in 2011 both parties arrived at a preliminary settlement requiring Ticketmaster to return money to fans.
Ticketmaster has been ordered to payout $42 million over four years with a yearly minimum of at least $10.5 million.
The company has committed to providing $10 million in ticket vouchers and discount codes for concerts through May 2017.
The number of free tickets that become available after this initial $10 million is dependent upon the number of vouchers actually redeemed and discount codes used.
How it works:
This is where things get tricky…
Every eligible purchase will have earned you a discount code or voucher.
There are three types of discount codes/vouchers– all with a different value:
• $2.25 discount on any ticket
• $5 discount toward UPS delivery
• Two free tickets for general admission seating at venues owned or operated by Live Nation Entertainment, which owns Ticketmaster.
The $2.25 vouchers can be used on any event sold through Ticketmaster.
The free ticket vouchers are a different matter. The company has not explained when, where and how these tickets can be used. They have also failed to provide a list of eligible shows leaving many customers frustrated. Odds are most of the free ticket will be limited to the– less popular– niche market shows like Ice Capades or the Insane Clown Posse concert.
What you need to do:
• Check your email for the subject line: “Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster Class Action Settlement — Notice Regarding Discount and Ticket Codes.”
• Log in to your Ticketmaster account.
• Click on the “Active Vouchers” link in the sidebar to see how many discount codes and vouchers you have earned.
• Be sure to read all of the terms and conditions before attempting to redeem the vouchers.
The good news in all of this is Ticketmaster seems to have learned their lesson and altered the way they do business.
Steven Blonder, a leading attorney on the lawsuit says that “since the lawsuit was brought, Ticketmaster has changed the way it describes its fees and charges on its website so we get more clarity and transparency.”
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