Vivid Seats class action claims company uses drip pricing tactics and refuses refunds

Vivid Seats class action overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Laura Cheezum filed a class action lawsuit against Vivid Seats Inc.
• Why: Cheezum claims Vivid Seats uses “drip pricing” tactics to deceive consumers.
• Where: The Vivid Seats class action lawsuit was filed in Maryland federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges ticketing platform Vivid Seats LLC uses deceptive “drip pricing” tactics to mislead consumers about the total cost of tickets. 

The complaint, filed on Oct. 16, 2025 by Plaintiff Laura Cheezum, claims Vivid Seats “advertises one price early in the transaction, only to reveal substantial fees after consumers have invested time and personal information in the checkout process.”

Cheezum alleges these undisclosed fees often increased ticket costs by 25% to 35%.

“A ticket initially displayed at $100 ballooned to $132.25 after $28.75 in service fees and $3.50 in delivery charges—none of which were disclosed upfront,” the class action says.

The complaint characterizes this as a deliberate design choice intended to “lock in” consumers at the final stage of the sale.

“Vivid Seats conceals mandatory fees until the point of payment, ensuring that consumers encounter them only after they have psychologically and practically committed to the purchase,” Cheezum claims in the lawsuit.

Class action: Vivid Seat ignored federal guidelines

The Vivid Seat class action further ties this practice to regulatory timing, alleging that the company continued to obscure fees “even after federal guidance warned against such conduct.” 

“Despite heightened federal scrutiny and public statements by the FTC and FCC condemning hidden service charges in online transactions, Vivid Seats persisted in the very practices those agencies identified as deceptive,” the class action lawsuit says.

According to the plaintiff, Vivid Seats ignored the evolving regulatory landscape and timed its pricing updates to appear compliant while maintaining a deceptive user interface that withholds the true ticket price until the final step.

The lawsuit also targets Vivid Seats’ marketing of its “100% Buyer Guarantee,” which promised full refunds if events were cancelled, postponed, or rescheduled. Cheezum alleges that these assurances were “false and misleading,” citing multiple instances where customers were denied cash refunds and issued limited credits instead.

Cheezum seeks injunctive relief requiring Vivid Seats to disclose full ticket prices upfront and to honor its advertised refund guarantees. She is also pursuing restitution, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and comparable laws in other states. 

Another ticket seller, Fandango, was recently hit with a lawsuit accusing it of drip pricing and not disclosing a “mandatory convenience fee.”

Are you affected by this Vivid Seats class action? Let us know in the comments.

Cheezum is represented by Cory L. Zajdel and David M. Trojanowski of Z Law, and Oren Giskan of Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson LLP.

The Vivid Seats drip pricing class action lawsuit is Cheezum v. Vivid Seats Inc. et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-03432, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

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