Many Ticketmaster customers noticed on Monday their free ticket vouchers that were showing in their account have disappeared. If you check your account, your codes are likely gone as well.
The free ticket codes are the result of a lawsuit first filed in 2003 alleging Ticketmaster was charging “excessive and deceptive” fees. The company agreed to a settlement worth $45 million.
Customers who made at least one purchase between October 1999 and February 2013 should receive a voucher good for two general admission tickets to “eligible” events at venues owned and operated by Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation Entertainment.
Ticketmaster customers should receive one code for each purchase made during the period, up to a maximum of 17 codes
However, as of Monday afternoon, the list of eligible events was still not available. Also on Monday, many people noticed voucher codes that were previously showing on their “Active Vouchers” page have since disappeared.
Some people said they had as many as 17 “free ticket” codes as of Monday morning. Now, only $2.25 discount codes are showing on the “Active Vouchers” page.
So… what happened?
The Ticketmaster settlement was mentioned on nearly every news website over the past few days, prompting many to attempt to use the codes and ask Ticketmaster/Live Nation when the list of eligible events would be added to the settlement website. The codes are not yet active.
On Sunday night, Ticketmaster said they could not say when the list would be available, but said “we expect it to be soon.” On Monday afternoon, their answer changed — well, slightly.
In response to dozens of tweets about the free ticket codes not working, Ticketmaster said:
“The event list should be up within the next 2 weeks. Until the list is finalized, unfortunately the codes won’t work or be available.”
Ticketmaster is now telling customers the codes will not be “available” until the event list is finalized, which is the most probable explanation as to why the free ticket codes disappeared from customer accounts on Monday. Tribune Broadcasting talked to a Ticketmaster customer service agent on Sunday night who confirmed the codes were removed from accounts and will be reposted when the event list is finalized and posted online.
The good news
Phew! All of the free tickets have not been gobbled up. Your free ticket voucher codes should return to your account once the event list has been confirmed and posted here.
No, your free ticket codes have not been “replaced” with the $2.25 discount codes. Customers included in the settlement should receive discount codes in addition to free ticket codes.
According to an FAQ, Live Nation has “sole discretion” in choosing which events the vouchers can be redeemed for, and they’ll be handed out on a first-come-first-served basis.
Editor’s note: Tribune Broadcasting has made multiple attempts to contact the media relations team at Ticketmaster/Live Nation Entertainment over the past 72 hours to seek official comment on the settlement and list of eligible events, however we have not received a response as of Monday evening.
