If you booked anything through Ticketmaster between 1999 and 2013, then you may be in line for some free stuff.
As part of recent settlement terms for a class-action lawsuit, the ticketing giant is handing out millions of free tickets and discount codes to U.S.-based customers who used its services during that 14-year period.
The handout is the result of the Schlesinger vs. Ticketmaster suit brought four years ago that accused the company of presenting customers with misleading information regarding fees. Ticketmaster has always rejected the accusation, but has nevertheless agreed to settle to the tune of $400 million.
At the center of the dispute appears to have been the company’s Order Processing Fee, a payment that customers assumed covered ticket-purchase processing costs but in the lawsuit was described as simply a “profit generator.” The suit also claimed that customers who received their tickets via mail had been overcharged.
Ticketmaster has been sending out emails to customers since Saturday with compensation details, but anyone who’s changed their email address in recent years is at risk of missing out.
If that’s you, simply log into your Ticketmaster account and click on “active vouchers” to discover if you’re one of the lucky recipients of free tickets or discounts.
Interestingly, the company is giving out a pair of ticket vouchers, or a discount code, for each purchase a customer made across that 14-year period, so if you were using Ticketmaster every time you booked to see an event, you’ll be compensated multiple times.
However, as far as the discount codes go, don’t expect too much. With some 50 million people involved in the lawsuit, each one is worth a paltry $2.25, though again, if you used Ticketmaster’s services multiple times, the amount could start to add up.
Oh, and there’s another catch – the company is only awarding the vouchers for “eligible events” hosted by Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company. Live Nation is yet to publish a list of those events (it’ll appear here), but we suggest it won’t be anyone too major, and more likely minor. Still, enjoy.
