The UK competition watchdog has raised concerns that Ticketmaster’s management of tickets for Oasis’s highly anticipated reunion tour last year could have been in violation of consumer protection rules. Following complaints that the fans were shelling out way above the face value of the tickets, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into the ticketing giant.
Over 900,000 tickets were sold for the band’s return concerts, but few of the fans knew they were paying through the nose. Some paid over £350 for tickets with a face value of £150. The CMA’s investigation implies that Ticketmaster’s pricing practice can be considered misleading, with very severe concerns regarding ticketing transparency.
One of the biggest areas of dispute is the use of “platinum” ticket branding by the company. Ticketmaster reserved some seats in this category at almost 2.5 times the cost of regular tickets. The CMA, however, pointed out that these high-priced tickets had no extra perks and were sometimes located in the same sections as regular-priced tickets. This lack of transparency might have caused most customers to think they were paying for a better experience when they actually were not.
Moreover, fans were not adequately notified of the fact that there were two distinct types of standing tickets with varying prices. This led to a lot of people waiting in online queues for long periods without realizing that they would end up paying much more than they expected.
Hayley Fletcher, acting senior director of consumer protection at the CMA, highlighted the importance of these results, saying, “Fans complained about purchasing Oasis tickets from Ticketmaster, and we concluded those issues were worth investigating. We are concerned that Oasis fans did not receive the information they required or were misled into purchasing tickets they believed were superior to what they were.”
Consumer campaign group Which? has already condemned Oasis and Ticketmaster over their involvement in the scandal. The organization claimed that fans who were charged much higher than the face value of tickets should be refunded. Dynamic pricing, where prices vary according to demand, has long been a cause of concern within the sector. But the CMA explained that it had no proof that Ticketmaster used algorithm-based dynamic pricing on the Oasis tour.
Rather, the firm seems to have resold some of the standing tickets at a discounted price prior to releasing more tickets at a significantly higher price once the initial supply was exhausted. Although this pricing methodology varies from the common dynamic pricing model, the CMA is still concerned with the ambiguity offered to customers on how ticket prices would be designed. With thousands of fans having to wait extended periods online before finding out what prices were on offer, the regulator feels there needs to be more transparency.
Since the inquiry started, Ticketmaster has implemented some changes to its ticket selling process. The CMA, however, remains skeptical that they are enough to deal with the underlying issues. The watchdog is now in talks with Ticketmaster to decide what else needs to be done.
The CMA’s spokesman said, “We now want Ticketmaster to cooperate with us to put things right so, in the future, fans are able to make informed choices when purchasing tickets. All ticket sites should ensure they are complying with the law and treating customers fairly. When businesses do get it right, consumers gain – and that’s good news for all.”
As part of wider initiatives to enhance fairness in the ticketing sector, the CMA recently signaled its support for the imposition of a limit on secondary ticket prices. Although reselling event tickets is not yet illegal, the suggested prohibitions would in effect remove large-scale ticket resales at overinflated prices. The action is viewed as a major step towards preventing ticket touts from taking advantage of fans by means of unscrupulous business practices. Some touts have already been subject to legal action, with some being jailed for their operation of fake ticket resales.
This case could mark a turning point in the way large events sell tickets, as there is an increasing pressure placed upon ticketing companies to provide more open and fairer pricing models. Regulators, musicians, and fans alike will all be watching Ticketmaster’s next move to rebuild confidence and ensure a fairer system of selling event tickets.
