Oasis and Ticketmaster told to refund fans hit by inflated ticket prices

UK consumer group Which? has called on Oasis and Ticketmaster to “do the right thing” and refund fans hit by inflated ticket prices.

Many fans were shocked by the price of standard tickets for the reunion tour more than doubling from STG148 ($A290) to STG355 ($A697) on Ticketmaster amid surging demand, prompting the Starmer government and the UK’s competition watchdog to investigate the use of dynamic pricing.

Following the controversy, Which? asked Oasis fans to send in screenshots of the ticket-buying and checkout process to see if they were warned that ticket prices could surge due to high levels of demand.

Which? said it received dozens of screenshots from fans who had tried to buy tickets - both before and after prices increased - none of which showed a warning message that Ticketmaster would increase prices during the sale.

Instead, Which? said it saw evidence that fans were shown one price for tickets, only to have that price taken away at the last second and replaced with a far higher, and unexpected, ticket price.

Which? cited one screenshot showing that due to ‘in demand’ pricing the cost of standing tickets at a Heaton Park show in Manchester - originally advertised for STG148.50 - surged to STG337.50 each.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs), traders must not mislead consumers with how prices are presented or leave out key pricing information that they might need to make an informed decision about their purchase.

Which? said many fans were not informed about the increases until after they had already tried to add cheaper tickets to their baskets.

While the use of ‘dynamic pricing’ was mentioned in the terms and conditions on the website, fans were not warned that this practice would be used for Oasis tickets, the watchdog said.

Last week the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over the sale.

The CMA said its investigation would include how so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used and would scrutinise whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law.

Ticketmaster has said it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the “event organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.

Oasis have previously stated that they had no involvement in the decision to implement dynamic pricing.

Which? said it would share its findings with the CMA.

Which? consumer law expert Lisa Webb said: “Oasis and Ticketmaster should do the right thing and refund fans who may have been misled into paying over the odds for tickets that would have been half the price just hours earlier.”

Oasis and Ticketmaster have been approached for comment.