Update – 26/09/2024
On September 23, 2024, the Competition Tribunal found Cineplex guilty of making false or misleading representations regarding the pricing of movie tickets on its website and mobile application. The Tribunal ruled that consumers purchasing tickets through these channels were subjected to a mandatory “Online Booking Fee” that was not adequately disclosed. As a result, Cineplex was fined an administrative monetary penalty of $38,978,000. Cineplex announced that they will appeal this ruling.
The Competition Tribunal’s ruling is positive in that the fine imposed on Cineplex will hopefully deter other companies from similar, allegedly misleading, conduct. However, the fight is not over and the proposed class action against Cineplex on behalf of consumers is ongoing. The Competition Tribunal did not order any compensation to be paid to the consumers who bought a ticket online and were required to pay this allegedly misleading “Online Booking Fee.” The proposed class action seeks to return the money spent on the “Online Booking Fee” back into consumers’ pockets. Finally, despite the Competition Tribunal’s ruling, Cineplex continues to carry out its allegedly misleading pricing practice for tickets purchased on its website.
Read more about the Tribunal’s decision in their press release here.
Slater Vecchio LLP has filed class action lawsuits against Cineplex in British Columbia and Quebec alleging that Cineplex’s failure to disclose the online booking fee that Cineplex charges on online ticket purchases at the outset of the ticket purchasing process constitutes false and misleading advertising. The two actions collectively seek to represent all Canadians who purchased a Cineplex movie ticket and were charged an online booking fee.
The action alleges that Cineplex engages in “price dripping” through their online ticket sales platform, in violation of Canada’s Competition Act.
Drip pricing occurs when the first price that a company advertises for a product or service does not equal the final price at checkout because the company adds non-government-imposed fees on top of the originally represented price. The fees are typically called a “service fee”, a “process fee” or an “improvement fee”.
The class actions filed by Slater Vecchio LLP allege that Cineplex did not disclose at the outset of the purchasing process that consumers who are not members of Cineplex’s CineClub would be charged a $1.00 or $1.50 online booking fee for booking their movie tickets through Cineplex’s website or mobile application. Through these lawsuits, consumers seek repayment of the online booking fees, plus taxes on those fees, that they paid to Cineplex.
A class action is a legal case through which one person makes a claim to the Court on behalf of a similarly situated class of people who have the same or a similar legal claim. A class action seeks to hold a defendant or defendants responsible for their conduct that affects each member of the class by resolving issues that are common to the class in the same legal proceeding, instead of each class member bringing a claim individually.
The individual who first files the claim must ask the Court for permission to proceed as a class action. If permission is granted (referred to as “authorized” in Quebec, and “certified” in all other Canadian provinces) and the case may proceed as a class action, the Court will appoint an individual as “Representative Plaintiff” to represent the best interests of the class during the litigation and define the class group. Each person who meets the criteria of the class group is considered a “Class Member”.
The action filed in British Columbia seeks to represent all persons in Canada, except residents of Quebec, who purchased a Cineplex movie ticket and were charged an online booking fee.
The action filed in Quebec seeks to represent all persons in Quebec who purchased a Cineplex movie ticket and were charged an online booking fee.
Potential class members are advised to retain their receipts outlining their payment of the online booking fee.
Individuals interested in being kept up to date with the proceedings are invited to submit their information through the form on this webpage.
