Oasis fans were ‘misled’ by Ticketmaster into paying higher prices, watchdog warns in possible law breach

OASIS fans were “misled” by Ticketmaster into paying higher prices than they bargained for, the watchdog warned today.

The online seller is now being ordered to overhaul its processes to be more upfront with customers. 

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Fans scrambling to get spots at the Gallagher brothers’ reunion were left furious last summer as Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” hiked costs throughout the day.

The Competition and Markets Authority today said the retailer “may have breached consumer protection law”.

Its investigation has centred on Ticketmaster selling “platinum” tickets for more than twice the standard price despite them offering no additional perks.

The regulator said this “risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better”.

Ticketmaster also failed to tell Oasis fans there were two categories of standing tickets, with the more expensive ones released after the cheaper ones had gone.

The CMA said this 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.”

It has now told the online seller to make urgent changes to the way it informs customers of prices and the way it labels its tickets.

The CMA’s Hayley Fletcher said: “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.”

More than 900,000 fans snapped up tickets through the site for Oasis’ blockbuster reunion tour this summer. 

Following the furore, the band issued a statement saying they had no “awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used”.

Liam and Noel are playing across the UK including at Wembley, Dublin, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester and Liverpool.

A Ticketmaster spokesman said: “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.”