Cineplex Faces Class Action Lawsuits Over Online Booking Fees

Vancouver-based law firm, Slater Vecchio LLP, has launched class action lawsuits against theatre chain Cineplex in British Columbia and Quebec.

The suits allege that Cineplex’s practice of not disclosing online booking fees at the beginning of the ticket purchasing process constitutes false and misleading advertising. These lawsuits aim to represent all Canadian consumers who were charged an online booking fee after purchasing a movie ticket from Cineplex.

The legal action accuses Cineplex of engaging in “price dripping” on their online ticket sales platform, a practice considered a violation of Canada’s Competition Act. Drip pricing is defined as advertising an initial price for a product or service that does not match the final checkout price due to the addition of non-governmental fees. These fees are often labeled as “service fee,” “process fee,” or “improvement fee.”

Back in June 2022, Cineplex added a $1.50 fee for online ticket purchases and in the company’s mobile app, which it said was to “fund the expansion and improvement of our digital infrastructure.” CineClub members did not have to pay this booking fee. This was a time when the theatre chain was trying to come back from COVID-19 shutdowns.

In May of 2023, Canada’s Competition Bureau filed a lawsuit against Cineplex, alleging it was misleading consumers on ticket prices, due to this $1.50 online booking fee, also considered a junk fee.

“To ensure fairness and transparency in the online marketplace, it is of paramount importance that companies accurately display the price they are charging Canadians from the moment these prices are first shown to consumers,” said Sam Jaworski, a partner at Slater Vecchio LLP.

According to the claims filed by Slater Vecchio, Cineplex failed to disclose that non-members of its CineClub would incur a $1.00 or $1.50 online booking fee when reserving movie tickets via Cineplex’s website or mobile app. The plaintiffs in these class action suits are seeking reimbursement for the online booking fees and the taxes applied to those fees, which they paid to Cineplex.