SeatGeek Class Action Seeks COVID-19 Ticket Refunds

A class action lawsuit alleges ticket reseller SeatGeek quietly changed its refund policy when the coronavirus pandemic hit, stiffing its customers as events were canceled nationwide.

“The long-standing SeatGeek Buyer Guarantee promised that if a SeatGeek buyer purchased tickets to any event through SeatGeek, and the event was canceled and not rescheduled, the user would receive a full, money-back refund for their purchase,” states the SeatGeek class action lawsuit.

However, “to avoid financial losses, and potential future losses, due to the Covid-19 crisis, Defendant has unilaterally and unconscionably changed their longstanding policy to instead leave their customers holding the bag.”

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Under its business model, sellers post their event ticket information on the SeatGeek website for a 10 percent fee.

Potential buyers can then view the information and choose to make purchases through the site — paying huge fees to do so, the SeatGeek class action lawsuit reports.

“Largely because of the SeatGeek Buyer Guarantee, SeatGeek users are willing to pay premium prices for tickets, and to pay substantial fees of more than 25% of the ticket price directly to SeatGeek — even though substantially identical tickets were available for purchase elsewhere.”

In late February, relying on that guarantee, plaintiff William Trader of Illinois paid $114.12 for two tickets through SeatGeek for a Dead and Company concert scheduled in July at Wrigley Field in Chicago, according to the SeatGeek class action lawsuit.

The event was later canceled because of coronavirus concerns.

Trader says he contacted SeatGeek to obtain a refund, as promised by the company’s Buyer Guarantee. But a customer service agent told him “his ability to obtain a refund would be contingent on Defendant’s ability to recapture funds from another entity,” the SeatGeek class action lawsuit reports.

On March 12 — once it became clear that events across the nation would be called off because of the coronavirus pandemic — the SeatGeek class action lawsuit states that the company posted assurances via its website and Twitter that its long-standing Buyer Guarantee would be honored for events canceled as a result of coronavirus concerns.

But soon after that, according to the SeatGeek class action lawsuit, “SeatGeek underhandedly changed its Buyer Guarantee promise retroactively from ‘[i]f the event is canceled and not rescheduled, you will be refunded the full purchase price’ to ‘[i]f the event is canceled and not rescheduled, you will be refunded the full purchase price or issued a credit to be used for a future purchase to be determined in SeatGeek’s sole discretion. We will notify you that the event was canceled and provide instructions on how to obtain the refund or credit.’”

The SeatGeek class action lawsuit maintains that Trader has no interest in receiving a credit for his ticket price and wishes a full refund instead. He has not received any indication that this will happen.

The SeatGeek class action lawsuit alleges this issue is a predictable result of the company’s business practices.

“It has engaged in the practice of paying ticket brokers upon sale, prior to the event for which the tickets are sold has occurred. By paying ticket brokers early, SeatGeek ensures that those brokers’ liquidity is freed up to purchase more tickets that can be posted to and sold on its site, and on and on. … Under this business model, the brokers and SeatGeek both make more money than if SeatGeek were responsible and held onto the proceeds of the sale until the event occurred.”

Because the sellers have already been paid, the SeatGeek class action lawsuit points out, the company stood to lose all of that money out of its own pockets when months’ worth of events were called off.

“Defendant has quietly sought to force its buyers to endure the financial losses that its own guarantee created for it in the entirely foreseeable scenario that world occurrences would cause the simultaneous cancellation of numerous public events,” states the SeatGeek class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff brings charges including breach of contract, conversion, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, unfair business practices (under New York state law), and breach of express warranty.

Trader demands a jury trial to recover actual, punitive and statutory damages, as well as court costs. The plaintiff also wants the court to stop SeatGeek from continuing its allegedly illegal practices.

Trader is represented by Nicholas A. Coulson and Steven D. Liddle of Liddle & Dubin PC.

The SeatGeek Ticket Refund Class Action Lawsuit is William Trader v. SeatGeek Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-03248, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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