The UK’s competition watchdog says that Ticketmaster “may have misled Oasis fans” during the initial bunfight over tickets for the reunion tour last year.
But this isn’t regarding the controversial practice of ‘dynamic’ pricing, which led to some fans forking out several times the amount the tickets were nominally being sold for.
Instead, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has suggested Ticketmaster could have broken consumer protection law by selling ‘platinum’ tickets that retailed for two and a half times the standard price but which came with no additional benefits.
"This risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better,” the CMA said, updating its investigation into Ticketmaster. The CMA has stated that it is looking for changes to the way the platform provides information to punters, advice which Ticketmaster has said it “welcomes.”
"At Ticketmaster, we strive to provide the best ticketing platform through a simple, transparent and consumer-friendly experience," a spokesperson told the BBC. “We welcome the CMA's input in helping make the industry even better for fans."
And whilst there’s no news yet regarding the issue of dynamic pricing, the CMA did criticise Ticketmaster, saying it was difficult for Oasis fans to make "informed choices". One example it gives is that punters were not aware there were "two categories of standing tickets at different prices, with all of the cheaper standing tickets sold first.”
This meant "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," the CMA continued.
Since last year, Ticketmaster has made some changes to its platform, but the CMA is not satisfied with these: "the CMA does not currently consider these changes are sufficient to address its concerns," it says.
"We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so, in future, fans can make well-informed decisions when buying tickets," said Hayley Fletcher, Interim Senior Director of Consumer Protection. "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."
So Ticketmaster very much isn't off the hook yet. The CMA investigation is not yet complete, and this story will doubtless develop further, possibly before Oasis play their first gig for 16 years on Cardiff on 4 July.
