CMA seeks changes from Ticketmaster after Oasis row

The UK’s consumer watchdog says Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law during last year’s Oasis ticket sale.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation following widespread complaints about last August’s sale for the band’s first shows since 2009.

The onsale was infamously marred by a “dynamic ticketing” row after ticket buyers who had queued for several hours were offered tickets for more than twice the advertised face value.

Setting out its concerns, the CMA – which says it is now consulting Ticketmaster on changes – highlights potential breaches by the firm. These include “labelling certain seated tickets as ‘platinum’ and selling them for near 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,” it adds.

Nevertheless, the CMA said it found “no evidence” that Ticketmaster had used an algorithmic pricing model, such as dynamic pricing, during the sale.

“Instead, Ticketmaster released a number of standing tickets at a lower price and, once they had sold out, then released the remaining standing tickets at a much higher price,” it says.

The body has flagged that consumers were not informed 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”.

“We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns”

“Fans reported problems when buying Oasis tickets from Ticketmaster and we decided those concerns warranted investigation,” says Hayley Fletcher, interim senior director of consumer protection. “We’re concerned that Oasis fans didn’t get the information they needed or may have been misled into buying tickets they thought were better than they were. We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so, in future, fans can make well-informed decisions when buying tickets.”

The regulator acknowledges that Ticketmaster has made changes to its ticket sales process since the opening of its investigation, but it “does not currently consider these changes are sufficient”.

It has provided Ticketmaster with details of further steps required, and is seeking changes to its processes including to the information it provides to customers, when it provides that information, and how it labels some of its tickets. The CMA declined to give more details of changes required from Ticketmaster when asked by IQ.

“All ticketing websites should check they are complying with the law and treating their customers fairly,” continues Fletcher. “When businesses get it right, consumers benefit – and that’s the best outcome for everyone.”

A Ticketmaster spokesperson says the company welcomes the input.

“At Ticketmaster, we strive to provide the best ticketing platform through a simple, transparent and consumer-friendly experience,” says a statement to IQ. “We welcome the CMA’s input in helping make the industry even better for fans.”

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