Ticketmaster isn't the only entertainment giant that stands accused of misleading consumers with hidden fees: Cineplex, the largest cinema chain in Canada, is also under fire for using deceptive marketing with its online ticket sales.
As CBC reports, the company has officially filed to appeal the record-breaking $38.9 million fine imposed against it by the Competition Tribunal, with Cineplex saying it has been granted an interim stay until the motion is heard by the Federal Court of Appeal.
UPDATE (11/6, 3:17 p.m. ET): Amid the appeal, Cineplex has said that it will continue adding a fee to some online ticket purchases but will modify how that charge is communicated to consumers.
"They were not really questioning the absolute fee. What they were questioning is how it was on the website," Cineplex chief executive Ellis Jacob said in an interview [via the Canadian Press]. "It was all about the presentation and they've asked us to make some modifications which we are co-operating with them [on] and moving forward."
Jacob expects the adjustments to the online ticketing system to be complete by early 2025, making it more evident to customers that there's a $1.50 booking fee (which is dropped to $1 for Scene Plus loyalty members and waived entirely for CineClub subscribers).
The Federal Court of Appeal has yet to announce when Cineplex's rebuttal against the Competition Tribunal's proposed fine will be heard — but the chief executive is confident that his company will succeed, saying, "We didn't think our presentation was at all deceptive to the consumer and I've gotten a lot of people who basically told me we are surprised they've even brought this up."
The decision to penalize Cineplex was decided upon by the tribunal last month after the Competition Bureau accused the movie theatre chain of deceiving customers by not presenting the full price of a movie ticket upfront when purchasing seats online.
Since June 2022, Cineplex has been charging a $1.50 booking fee for online ticket purchases, which gets dropped down to $1 or waived entirely for members of its Scene Plus loyalty programs or CineClub subscribers, respectively, in a practice known as drip pricing.
The company has denied the accusations, claiming consumers are told immediately about the fees that may be imposed — and that they can be altogether avoided by buying tickets at the theatre in person.