Ticketmaster faces legal action after Oasis tickets scandal
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says it is looking at legal action after an investigation into consumer protection concerns regarding the sale of Oasis concert tickets by Ticketmaster.
This includes concerns around how so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used and whether Ticketmaster had misled customers over certain categories of tickets.
The Oasis reunion tour, which kicks off this month, has led to high, understandably high demand, but much of the focus from fans has been on an inability to score tickets and the costs of the tickets themselves.
The CMA’s investigation shows that the cheaper standing tickets were sold first before the more expensive ones were released. The CMA said this resulted in many fans waiting in a queue without understanding what they would be paying. Then, when they finally had the opportunity to buy tickets, they had to decide on the spot whether to pay a much higher price than they had expected.
After a thorough investigation, the CMA said it has identified the following consumer law concerns about the Oasis sale:
- Labelling certain seated tickets as ‘platinum’ and selling them for nearly 2.5 times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without sufficiently explaining that they did not offer additional benefits and were often located in the same area of the stadium. This risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better.
- Not informing consumers that there were two categories of standing tickets at different prices, with all of the cheaper standing tickets sold first before the more expensive standing tickets were released, resulting in many fans waiting in a lengthy queue without
understanding what they would be paying and then having to decide whether to pay a higher price than they expected. - The CMA said it did not find any evidence that Ticketmaster used an algorithmic pricing model to adjust ticket prices in real time according to changing conditions like high demand.
The CMA said it has now written to Ticketmaster to confirm that it has now discharged its obligation to consult with Ticketmaster and, given that no undertakings have been offered or agreed, is now preparing to litigate the matter if necessary.
“The CMA will, in parallel, continue to engage with Ticketmaster in an effort to secure a voluntary resolution, should it indicate a clear and timely commitment to do so,” it said.
