This article is about pricing, and transparency. And the law.
If you are in the business of selling tickets, you might be familiar with ticket fees, order fees, service fees, transaction fees, etc. Although these can all be handled during the purchase process, they are sometimes complex to communicate on your website. Furthermore, there are laws that regulate exactly this.
This document summarises the key legal requirements in each jurisdiction and highlights the practical implications for ticketing operations. It ends with some practical tips and examples.
Here’s a spoiler for the core principal that will be discussed:
Consumers must be shown the true, total cost of a ticket from the moment a price is displayed - not just at checkout.
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Please note that this document expresses our interpretation of the current legislation across relevant areas. We at CultureSuite have created an overview of what we understand is the current state of pricing regulation, but we cannot be held responsible for what is merely our interpretation of information that is publicly available. We encourage you to do your own research to make informed decisions.
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This is the general backbone for pricing. It governs consumer protection by preventing businesses from engaging in unfair, misleading, or aggressive commercial practices, and drip pricing (adding additional unavoidable costs later in the order process) could be seen as misleading if it deceives the consumer about the true cost of a product or service, leading them to make a decision they would not have otherwise made. This is the law that catches a low headline ticket price with mandatory fees revealed only at checkout. Source: Aimondo
This requires showing the total price for a ticket before purchase. The obligation to show the total price of a product – inclusive of taxes and, where applicable, all additional freight, delivery or postal charges – falls under the pre-contractual information requirements of the CRD. Mandatory booking or transaction fees are a CRD issue as much as anything else. Source: Osborne Clarke
This is still in development, not yet law but relevant to watch. The Commission's 2025 consultation on the Digital Fairness Act specifically targets drip pricing, for example, failing to disclose upfront mandatory costs and adding them later during booking and dynamic pricing practices. Source: Osborne Clarke
Whenever you make an "invitation to purchase”, you must present the total, all-in price upfront. All fixed, mandatory charges must be included in the first price shown. In an invitation to purchase, traders must tell consumers the total price of the product, which includes any fees, taxes, charges, or other payments that the consumer will necessarily incur if they purchase the product. Source: Charles Russell SpeechlysMondaq