No more unpleasant surprises: FTC forces Ticketmaster to display the full price up front on your purchases

A big change is coming to the world of event ticketing in the United States, one that will be good news for concert-goers everywhere.

For years, customers have been forced to accept all variety of additional fees that are only made visible when they reach the point of payment. Once at the checkout, customers are almost certain to continue with the purchase but that late addition leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Now, that’s all going to change. A new rule from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires companies to provide up-front pricing for event tickets, along with rentals and hotels.

In response, Ticketmaster has announced that it will now be displaying service charges and facility fees alongside the up-front costs, ensuring that customers aren’t stung late on.

A statement from Ticketmaster confirmed: “The upfront price includes all required fees in addition to the face value. These fees help cover the behind-the-scenes costs of putting on live events and keeping the ticketing process secure and smooth."

The new FTC rule aims to cut out the ‘junk fees’ that are stuck onto payments at the last minute as a quick cash grab. They estimate that the added clarity brought about by this change will save customers up to 53 million hours per year, a major win for the consumer.

It’s good news for concert-goers but there are still some outliers. Additional fees like taxes, shipping charges and additional goods and services are not required to be shown up front. But these fees are less susceptible to misuse and the change should help consumers compare prices more swiftly from now on.

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