Several Fandango customers have complained about the amount and non-refundable nature of Fandango’s “convenience fee” assessed on the purchase of any movie ticket. Fandango does not explain the purpose of the “convenience fee” and the only way to purchase tickets through Fandango is digitally, rendering it impossible for customers to avoid the “convenience fee”. 

Fandango’s ticket policy (as of December 2020) provides that the convenience fee is not refundable, and will not be refunded along with the value of the ticket, except in the case that customers seek to exchange their tickets for other tickets. The ticket policy mentions that a non-refundable convenience fee will be charged, but makes no representations for what the fee is intended to cover, given that Fandango only offers ticket sales through the internet. Additionally, Fandango makes it seem like the convenience fee is partially paying for taxes, when this is likely not true. 

In some cases, on cheaper movie tickets, Fandango’s convenience fee can cost up to 75% of the ticket price in addition to the advertised price. Customers may have claims for false advertising, unjust enrichment, and state law consumer protection claims.

A 2016 class action lawsuit, Byler v. Deluxe Corporation, 222 F.Supp.3d 885 (S.D. Cal. 2016), was allowed to go forward on the theory that the retailer charged excessive fees for its shipping and handling; fees which were unrelated to the costs actually incurred in shipping the items. The case was settled in 2017 on an individual basis. 

Another similar lawsuit’s dismissal was affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court in February 2022. In this class action lawsuit, claimants sued a red light camera operator for charging a 5% convenience fee for online payments for traffic fines, claiming unjust enrichment and claims under Florida consumer protection laws. In affirming the lower court’s dismissal, the Florida Supreme Court focused primarily on an argument that by being able to pay the fees online, and not by mail, that customers did receive consideration in exchange for a benefit, foreclosing any potential unjust enrichment claim. Analogizing to the situation at hand with Fandango, because there is no option to pay by mail or any other means, an argument that Fandango customers received some sort of consideration in exchange for the convenience fee is substantially weaker. 

Fandango’s terms and policies include a mandatory arbitration provision as well as a class action waiver. Customers “agree” to these terms by clicking “complete my purchase” at the movie ticket checkout page.