Competition watchdog sets out ‘concerns’ over Ticketmaster’s Oasis sale
The CMA said it had not found evidence that Ticketmaster used an algorithmic pricing model during the Oasis offer.
The competition watchdog has told Ticketmaster to change the way it labels tickets and reveals prices to fans following “concerns” over the Oasis concerts sale.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was concerned that Ticketmaster, which sold more than 900,000 tickets during the Oasis ticket sale, may have breached consumer protection law by labelling certain seated tickets as “platinum” and selling them for nearly two and a half 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.
The CMA said Ticketmaster did not inform consumers that 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.
The resulted 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.
However the watchdog said it had not found evidence that Ticketmaster used an algorithmic pricing model during the Oasis sale, despite “many fans” being under the impression that ticket prices changed in real time due to high demand.
Despite this, the CMA said it was concerned that consumers were not given clear and timely information about how the pricing of standing tickets would work, particularly when many had to wait in lengthy queues to see what tickets were available.
Ticketmaster had made changes to some aspects of its ticket sales process, but the CMA said it “does not currently consider these changes are sufficient”.
The CMA said it was consulting with Ticketmaster on further changes to the information the platform provides to customers, when it provides that information, and how it labels some of its tickets.
Hayley Fletcher, interim senior director of consumer protection at the CMA, 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.”
Ticketmaster UK said in a statement: “At Ticketmaster, we strive to provide the best ticketing platform through a simple, transparent and consumer-friendly experience.
“We welcome the CMA’s input in helping make the industry even better for fans.”
