Oasis fans urged to contact Trading Standards over dynamic ticket pricing 'law breach'

Oasis fans affected by “dynamic pricing” of tickets for the band’s reunion tour have been told they should report their experience to trading standards, amid warnings the practice could have breached consumer law.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute said the decision to use dynamic or “surge” pricing - when the cost of a ticket changes due to demand - could be in breach of regulations due to customers not being informed about the change in prices before they queued for tickets. It said while the practice is accepted for goods and services such as taxis, holidays and flights, customers hoping to book gig tickets through this method were “misled” by lower prices published ahead of the tickets going on sale.

This comes as thousands of people have signed petitions calling for action to be taken against the practice, while the UK Government has said it will include surge pricing in a review of the secondary gig sales market. The scramble for tickets, which was said to be worse than the rush ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, saw Scottish fans warn they were forced to drop out of the race for a coveted place at Oasis’ gigs at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium due to the soaring pricing - some after waiting for hours in a virtual queue.

Ticket prices increased by up to four times through official sale sites from the basic published amounts of £151 for a standing ticket, and £74 to £206 for a seat. On resale sites, prices rose even further. Some tickets are being sold for up to £5,963 for a single ticket on Viagogo on one date for the Murrayfield gig.

Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher confirmed the band would reunite last Tuesday. The pair had been separated for years following an acrimonious split in 2009.

Sylvia Rook, lead officer for fair trading at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: "Whilst dynamic pricing is an accepted practice for holidays, flights and taxis, the difference here is that consumers are informed of the price before they decide to make a purchase. 

“In this case, the public were given a price for tickets, and were not informed until they finally got to the front of the queue, that the price had increased.  This undoubtedly meant that many consumers have overreached and ended up spending much more than they originally intended.  Many other consumers ended up disappointed after deciding not to proceed to pay the vastly increased prices.”

Ms Rook said “all relevant information” about the price should have been given to consumers before they joined the queue to ensure the practice complied with consumer legislation. She said Scottish customers affected should report the matter to Trading Standards by calling Advice Direct.

She added: "Dynamic, or fluid pricing, is not specifically prohibited by consumer protection law; the important factor is that consumers are not misled by the indicated price.  It is a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 if a trader misleads consumers regarding the price of goods and services, if that causes the average consumer to take a different ‘transactional decision’. 

“In this case many consumers would not have joined the queue had they known that the price would have increased by the time they were able to purchase, and many fans could not afford the increased price.”

Consumer watchdog Which? also questioned whether the approach is legal.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: “This is an issue that really matters to consumers and the Oasis controversy is just one of a number of examples that demonstrate pricing rules are struggling to keep up with the latest technology-driven tactics used by businesses.

"The Competition and Markets Authority should urgently clarify whether this kind of dynamic pricing approach for concert tickets is legal under current rules. In the meantime, it's essential that companies are transparent about how they will use dynamic pricing, so that consumers don't get a nasty shock at checkout."

One fan, Paul Thompson, from Edinburgh, said he had been quoted £419 for standing tickets which were originally priced at £151, after waiting in a queue for more than six hours.

He said: "I joined the queue at 8.30am on Saturday and didn't even get through to the Ticketmaster website until mid afternoon. When I finally was offered tickets, the price had surged to £419 each. I didn't buy them, it just smacks of taking advantage. The hype has got ridiculous."

What is to be done about dynamic ticket pricing?

A total of 16 different petitions have been set up on change.org, with around 7,000 people signing their names in protest at the practice.

One petition starter said: “Their monopoly on the sale of tickets has allowed this greed to go unchecked for years. It’s time it was banned!”

Another added: “It isn't fair for us to have to pay more just because the event we wish to attend is in higher demand. Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing strategy unfairly exploits loyal fans who simply want to enjoy an event.”

In February this year, Change.org user Allister Thompson started a separate petition calling for dynamic pricing to be banned which attracted almost 50,000 signatures, although it has not resulted in any action to date. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the inflated selling of Oasis tickets was “incredibly depressing” after the cost of standard tickets more than doubled from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster.

Before the Oasis concerts were announced, the government had already pledged to “bring in protections to stop people being ripped off by touts”.

Ms Nandy said: “After the incredible news of Oasis’ return, it’s depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans from having a chance of enjoying their favourite band live.

“This Government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music. So we will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales.

“Working with artists, industry and fans we can create a fairer system that ends the scourge of touts, rip-off resales and ensures tickets at fair prices.”

Government minister Lucy Powell was among those hit by dynamic pricing on Saturday, and eventually forked out more than double the original quoted cost of a ticket for an Oasis show.

Fans called the “in-demand” pricing both “sickening” and “scandalous”.

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

It is understood Taylor Swift opted out of dynamic ticket pricing, after speaking out on the issue in public.

Was that the only problem for Oasis fans?

Lots of fans also missed out on the reunion tour tickets as they battled with website issues, and being mislabelled as bots, before Oasis announced all 17 shows had sold out.

However, Ticketmaster maintained its website had not crashed, and directed customers to clear cookies and to only use one tab.

House of Commons leader and Lord President of the Council, Ms Powell, said she ended up buying two tickets for £350 each for Heaton Park in July, which were originally quoted at £148.50, not including a booking fee of £2.75.

Ms Powell said she does not “particularly like” surge pricing, before adding: “It is the market and how it operates.”

“You’ve absolutely got to be transparent about that so that when people arrive after hours of waiting, they understand that the ticket is going to cost more,” she said.

It is believed the ticket prices for Oasis gigs were set by promoters.

The band’s promoters, Manchester-based SJM Concerts, Irish MCD and Scottish DF Concerts & Events have all been approached for comment.

Are tickets available on resale sites?

There has also been concern about the non-official sellers Viagogo. Tickets for Oasis’ Murrayfield dates are selling at inflated prices on the site, with standing tickets starting at more than £800, while the most expensive tickets available are on sale for more than £5,000. The original standing price for Murrayfield was due to be £151 - before surge pricing.

The secondary seller has defended the practice saying fans sell the tickets, and its global managing director added: “Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee that they will receive their tickets in time for the event or their money back.”

Oasis has told followers that Ticketmaster and Twickets should only be used for resales, and put up for prices at “face value”, otherwise they will be “cancelled by the promoters”.

Oasis has also been contacted for comment.