After it was revealed Ticketmaster plans to roll out “dynamic pricing” more widely, experts say it may have broken consumer law by failing to warn Oasis fans that ticket prices could rise while they were queuing.
Excitement surrounding the Manchester band's long-awaited reunion tour turned to disappointment and anger over the weekend, as fans expressed frustration at an unannounced price increase for tickets to the 17 shows in 2025 that were expected to bring in millions of dollars for the Gallagher brothers.
Dynamic pricing, common in the US but relatively rare in the UK and Ireland, meant some fans queued all day only to find that their £135 standing tickets had increased to £355 when they came time to confirm their purchase.
Fans said they had no choice but to miss out or pay more than they could afford, and they had just a few minutes to decide.
The government announced on Sunday night that dynamic pricing would be included in an upcoming review into ticket sales, which will focus on Labour's plans to ban “rip-off” scalping sites and ticket scalping.
But consumer law experts said Monday that while dynamic pricing is not illegal, the way Ticketmaster applied it could violate consumer regulations if it wasn't clear to fans that the price of basic standing tickets could increase.
Sylvia Luke, lead officer for fair trading at the Chartered Trading Standards Institution (CTSI), said: “Dynamic pricing, or floating pricing, is not specifically prohibited by consumer protection law. What's important is that consumers are not misled by the prices they are offered.”
“If a business misleads consumers about the price of goods or services, thereby inducing the average consumer to make a different 'trade decision', it breaches the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008).”
“In this case, many consumers would not have queued had they known the price would have increased by the time they were able to purchase, and many fans would not have been able to afford the increased price.”
The Guardian contacted Ticketmaster on Sunday to ask whether it had warned consumers about its dynamic pricing model and whether the Oasis sale complied with consumer regulations. The company has not yet responded.
Consumer group Which? on Monday called on competition watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to clarify whether Ticketmaster's use of dynamic pricing for Oasis tours was “lawful under current regulations”.
“In the meantime, it's important that companies are transparent about how they use dynamic pricing so consumers aren't hit with a nasty shock at the checkout,” Which? said.
Ticketmaster said the final decision on pricing strategy rests with Oasis and the band's management, who are yet to comment.
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority said on Monday it had received more than 450 complaints about “misleading claims about availability and pricing”.
Despite the backlash, comments from the chief executive of Live Nation Entertainment, which owns Ticketmaster, suggested fans in the UK, Ireland and Europe can expect dynamic pricing to become more commonplace in future.
When Live Nation announced in February that its annual revenue had grown 36 percent to $22.7 billion, the company’s chief executive Michael Rapino said: “Outside the U.S., we’re still in the first inning. [dynamic pricing] It's spreading all over the world. This is clearly a huge growth opportunity.”
“I have experience in Europe. [it’s] still [its] “The Early Childhood Stage”
Oasis fans who spoke to the Guardian said they had seen no warning that the price could be nearly three times higher than originally advertised.
Jack Simpson, 44, from Leeds, said: “We were there [queueing] After hours of waiting, only one person out of 15 got through and got four tickets, while the rest of us were told there were only £350 left. It was a bit tiring.
“The whole thing feels a bit dirty. A lot of people were happy. [about the reunion] “There hasn't been much positivity for years, and then this year it happened. People were really positive and then this just ruined it.”
Simpson, who runs a music venue called Hyde Park Book Club, is one of at least seven fans who told the Guardian that they received no warning during the ticket-buying process that prices might skyrocket by the time they confirmed their purchase.
In Ireland, Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin described the pricing row as “very shocking” and said the country's consumer body might consider dynamic pricing.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said working class Oasis fans were being “victimised” by the pricing system.
The Guardian has contacted Ticketmaster for comment.
