(Toronto) Canada’s competition commissioner won’t budge: The country’s largest movie theater chain is using “deceptive marketing practices” to sell some tickets.
In a reply filed last week with the Competition Tribunal, Matthew Boswell reaffirmed the accusations he has been making since May, adding that Cineplex misrepresented the process for purchasing its tickets.
This document demonstrates that Mr. Boswell has no intention of backing down on his allegation that consumers cannot purchase tickets for screenings at Cineplex theaters at advertised prices, since they are charged a mandatory $1.50 fee for online booking.
However, the Toronto-based movie giant said in its own filings, filed earlier this month, that the Competition Bureau’s claims were without merit and should be dismissed since moviegoers are made aware of the fees they may be charged as soon as they select a screening and ticket type.
In his rejoinder, Mr. Boswell refuted this assertion, saying that “consumers are not told the price of a movie ticket on the very front page of the website and app.”
“Cineplex also glosses over the fact that when the price of a movie ticket is displayed on the ‘tickets’ page, Cineplex does not actually adjust each price representation to show the total price,” Boswell continued.
“Instead, the costs of each movie ticket are added to the online booking fee [which can be charged up to four times per transaction], leaving it up to consumers to figure out that the cost per ticket has gone up. »
The commissioner also took issue with Cineplex’s assertion that the online reservation fee is not mandatory for the purchase of a movie ticket, as anyone buying their ticket in theaters or using Cineplex’s CineClub subscription program does not have to pay it. Additionally, those who use a Scene Plus loyalty program card during the purchase process will see the online booking fee reduced to $1.00.
“The fact that consumers, after deciding to purchase a movie ticket through the website or app and assuming they realize that Cineplex has added an online reservation fee, can then choose to avoid the online reservation fee, does not change the fact that Cineplex displayed an upfront price that is inaccessible on the website or in the app due to the fixed mandatory online reservation fee,” Boswell said.
He said Cineplex’s purchase process was designed to encourage customers to proceed with a ticket purchase despite the fee, and pointed out that the chain had put up signs in its theaters telling customers that the box office was closed, but tickets could be purchased online or in the Cineplex app.
Cineplex did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Boswell’s latest response.
The channel fee that sparked the dispute with Mr. Boswell was implemented on June 15, 2022 and is intended to serve as an online booking fee for purchasing tickets in advance.
They were launched as Cineplex recovered from the forced closures of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of a deal that would have seen it be acquired by British company Cineworld for more than 2 billion.
