The competition watchdog launched a probe into the ticket selling site after furious fans in online queues found standard tickets for the band’s reunion had more than doubled in price by the time they reached the online checkout.
Ticketmaster used ‘dynamic pricing’ when it sold tickets for the Oasis Live ’25 tour last August, prompting widespread complaints about the sale of tickets to the gigs.
The CMA has now set out its concerns over Ticketmaster’s sale of Oasis tickets. The regulator said it is “concerned that Ticketmaster’s approach may have misled Oasis fans”.
Following the investigation, the CMA is now consulting with the ticketing platform on changes to ensure fans receive the right information at the right time.
Did ticket sales breach consumer protection law?
The CMA is concerned that Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law by labelling certain seated tickets as ‘platinum’. These tickets sold for nearly two-and-a-half times the price of equivalent standard tickets – but they did not offer additional benefits and were often located in the same area of the stadium.
Why Life Insurance Still Matters – Even During a Cost-of-Living Crisis
Sponsored by Post Office
The CMA said the labelling of some tickets as ‘platinum’ risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better.
The CMA also said Ticketmaster did not inform consumers that there were two categories of standing tickets at different prices. All of the cheaper standing tickets were sold first before the more expensive standing tickets were released. This resulted in many fans waiting in a lengthy online queue before being offered tickets at a higher price than they expected.
Ticketmaster told to change processes
Since the opening of the investigation, Ticketmaster has made changes to some aspects of its ticket sales process. But the CMA said these changes are not sufficient to address its concerns.
The regulator has provided Ticketmaster with details of the further steps required to address its concerns and is seeking changes to Ticketmaster’s processes. These include changing the information the ticket site provides to customers, when it provides that information, and how it labels some of its tickets. The CMA is now consulting on these changes with Ticketmaster.
Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s interim senior director of consumer protection, said: “Fans reported problems when buying Oasis tickets from Ticketmaster and we decided those concerns warranted investigation.
“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.
“All ticketing websites should check they are complying with the law and treating their customers fairly. When businesses get it right, consumers benefit – and that’s the best outcome for everyone.”
