Quebec online ticket reseller sent 26 fines for allegedly hiking prices

The online ticket reseller Billets.ca has been sent 26 statements of offence for allegedly hiking ticket prices without sellers' consent. (Cal Woodward / The Associated Press)

Quebec's crown prosecutors sent an online ticket reseller more than two dozen fines for selling concert tickets at a higher price than the seller authorized.

The Quebec consumer protection office (OPC) said in a news release on Wednesday that the DPCP (Directeur des poursuites criminelles et penales) sent 26 statements of offence to Billets.ca and its president Eric Bussieres.

"If found guilty, the fine provided for in the (consumer protection) Act, for each statement of offence, is between $2,000 and $100,000 for the company and between $600 and $15,000 for its president," the news release reads.

In addition to hiking prices on tickets, the crown alleges that the company resold a ticket that was not in their possession.

The alleged offences occurred between Nov. 2022 and Sept. 2023.

Bussieres and the company have 30 days to issue a guilty or not guilty plea. The OPC said further evidence will be made public after the files are transferred to the court.

Billets.ca was established in 1999 and is based on Brewster Avenue in Montreal.

"The Consumer Protection Act prohibits any merchant from charging a higher price for tickets to a show than the price advertised by the seller authorized by the producer of the show, unless the merchant has obtained the latter's authorization and complies with certain other conditions," the office says.

"It is also prohibited for anyone to use software that circumvents the control mechanisms put in place by the producer of a show or the authorized seller or to resell tickets obtained in such a way," the office said.

Anyone who notices practices which may seem illegal is encouraged to file a complaint with the consumer protection office.