Money Minute: Overcharged Concertgoers Finally Get a Refund

Updated

You may be eligible for money back on concert tickets you bought 15 years ago.

Ticketmaster has tentatively agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit that could give small refunds to as many as 50 million people who bought tickets on the company's website. The long-running dispute is over what the company called "order processing fees" -- but plaintiffs allege the company pocketed some of that money. They say it didn't go to pay for delivery or other costs. But don't expect to get rich over this settlement. Most people will get $2.25 in credit for each ticket bought between October of 1999 and February of last year.

%VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks%The United Auto Workers Union is meeting this week and one of the big items on the agenda is a dues increase. If approved, it would be the first time the union has raised its dues in 47 years. The union says it needs the money to replenish its strike fund, as UAW membership has tumbled by 40 percent from a decade ago. The union will also elect a new president this week.

Have you finalized your plans for a summer road trip? Well, you can cross gasoline prices off of the list of things to worry about. AAA says prices at the pump this summer will mirror what they were last year, ranging from $3.55 a gallon to $3.70 -- depending upon regional differences and other factors. AAA says the current average is $3.67 for a gallon of regular.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) and the S&P 500 both edged further into record territory on Monday. The Dow rose 26 points and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) added a point, but the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) lost 5.

Finally, the heated gun control debate focuses mostly on big guns with big ammunition clips. But CNNMoney reports sales of small, easily concealable handguns are soaring. Colt Manufacturing reported a twelvefold increase in sales of small handguns last year, many of them bought by people who have never owned a gun before, especially women who are interested in personal security.

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.

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