Bronx Zoo Owner Facing Class Action Over Allegedly Unlawful Online Ticket Processing Fee

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A proposed class action claims the operator of the Bronx Zoo has unlawfully failed to include a $2 “processing fee” in the stated total cost of a non-member admission ticket at the beginning of the BronxZoo.com purchase process.

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The 15-page lawsuit alleges the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)—the owner of various New York City zoos—has violated a New York law stipulating that operators of places of entertainment must disclose the total cost of a ticket, including any additional fees, before the ticket is selected for purchase. Per the suit, the law also precludes such entities from increasing ticket prices during the checkout process.

The case contends that in violation of state law, WCS does not disclose its $2 processing fee until checkout, where Bronx Zoo customers are “ambushed” by the added charge after navigating through multiple pages required to make a purchase.

According to the complaint, an individual buying a non-member admission ticket on BronxZoo.com is first taken to a screen listing various ticket prices. Rather than properly disclosing the total cost including fees, the page displays only a ticket’s starting price, the lawsuit says.

In the pages that follow, the consumer can select the quantity and type of ticket they want to buy, choose a visit date and time, obtain a zoo membership and purchase any add-ons, the filing relays. However, none of the pages state the total cost of a ticket or mention the processing fee, as required by law, the suit charges.

Only after the website visitor navigates to the final checkout page does WCS display its $2 processing fee above the now-increased total price, the case states.

The complaint alleges that in this way, WCS has been “nickel and diming” non-member Bronx Zoo visitors like the plaintiff, a New York resident who says she was forced to pay the processing fee when she purchased admission tickets in November 2022.

“This cheap trick has enabled [WCS] to swindle substantial sums of money from its customers,” the filing argues.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased electronic tickets to the Bronx Zoo from BronxZoo.com since August 29, 2022.

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