Dendy Cinema has paid a penalty of $19,800 following allegations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of engaging in ‘drip-pricing’ practices. The ACCC claims that Dendy failed to prominently display the total price of movie tickets, including unavoidable booking fees, at the earliest opportunity in the online booking process.

According to the ACCC, Dendy displayed prices excluding the unavoidable per ticket booking fee until the final stages of the online transaction. This practice, the ACCC suggests, may have impacted consumers’ ability to make informed purchasing decisions.

“Businesses must be upfront about the total minimum quantifiable price of a product or service,” stated ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe. She further highlighted the potential impact on consumers, saying, “Consumers are sometimes lured into purchases they would not otherwise have made when businesses display only part of the price upfront and reveal the total price only towards the end of the purchasing process.”

The ACCC is actively examining pricing practices within the cinema industry to ensure compliance with Australian Consumer Law, particularly in relation to booking fees. The ACCC’s Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2025-26 include a focus on ‘misleading surcharging practices and other add on costs’.

Dendy operates 52 screens across six cinemas located in New South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory. The ACCC’s allegations suggest that by initially only displaying part of the total price for a movie ticket, Dendy may have reduced the ability of consumers to make an informed purchasing decision.

“By initially only displaying part of the total price for a movie ticket, Dendy has reduced the ability of consumers to make an informed purchasing decision,” Lowe remarked.

This action against Dendy follows a similar legal move by the ACCC in November 2024 against Webjet Marketing, which faced allegations of misleading price representations. The ACCC’s ongoing scrutiny of pricing practices aims to uphold transparency and fairness in consumer transactions.

“We encourage all businesses to review their online pricing practices to ensure they are complying with their obligations under the law, including providing the total minimum quantifiable price of products and services in their advertising and at the earliest opportunity in the booking process,” Lowe urged.

The total minimum quantifiable price, as defined by the ACCC, includes any mandatory fees or pre-selected optional fees. The ACCC’s actions highlight the importance of businesses adhering to transparent pricing practices to avoid misleading consumers.