New York Event Tickets: Expedia Not Properly Disclosing Service Fees? 

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect Expedia may have violated New York law by waiting to disclose service fees until the final step of the checkout process.

Specifically, they believe the travel technology company, which now also sells tickets to music, sporting and other events, may have broken New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law – a statute that requires the total cost of tickets, including fees, to be disclosed before they are selected for purchase.

The attorneys are now looking into possible legal action.

What Does New York Law Say About Ticket Fee Disclosures?

New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law addresses promotion of the arts, transactions involving artists and their works, protection of child performers, and, for the purposes of this investigation, the regulation of ticket sales to “places of entertainment.”

Regarding ticket prices, the New York law states that any platform that “facilitates the sale or resale of tickets shall disclose the total cost of the ticket,” including any “ancillary fees that must be paid in order to purchase the ticket,” and clearly disclose the portion of the price that represents a service charge. Notably, the law also requires that this disclosure of the total cost and fees be “displayed in the ticket listing prior to the ticket being selected for purchase.”

Attorneys believe Expedia may be violating New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law by failing to include service fees in the price of event tickets when they are first displayed for purchase.  

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly? 

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

“[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Expedia’s terms of service contain both a class action waiver and an arbitration clause requiring users to resolve any and all claims via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury.

It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit. 

How Much Does This Cost? 

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award. 

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law states, however, that consumers could be owed $50 for violations of the statute.

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