Fandango’s Per-Ticket ‘Convenience Fee’ Violates N.Y. Arts Law, Alleges Class Action

For more than a year Fandango Media has been “nickel and diming” moviegoers on its website, imposing a $1.89 per ticket “convenience fee” at checkout after consumers click through various screens required to make a purchase, alleged Shane Mannion’s class action Friday (docket 1:23-cv-11150) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan. By not displaying the full ticket price upfront, as the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law requires, Fandango's “cheap trick” has enabled it “to swindle substantial sums of money" from customers, the complaint alleged. Fandango’s convenience fees “can quickly add up,” the complaint added. For a family of four, Fandango tacks on an extra $7.56 at the end of the purchase process, it said. That’s “roughly equivalent to the cost of a bucket of popcorn,” it said. The “checkout flow” and the disclosures Fandango presents to consumers are the same whether they buy tickets via the Fandango website or through mobile apps, it said. The complaint seeks restitution, compensatory and statutory damages and injunctive relief. in violation of the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law,