UK launches investigation into Ticketmaster's pricing for Oasis reunion tour

NEWS WIRES

5 September 2024 at 10:27 am·1-min read

The UK's competition watchdog launched on Thursday an investigation into Ticketmaster over its handling of ticket sales for Oasis's highly anticipated reunion tour, following complaints of sudden price hikes due to dynamic pricing. The inquiry will explore potential breaches of consumer protection law and examine broader concerns about the transparency and fairness of dynamic pricing practices in ticket sales.

The UK's competition watchdog said Thursday it has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over how it handled ticket sales for next year's sold-out Oasis reunion tour.

The scramble on Saturday for prized tickets for 17 announced concerts in July and August, 2025, saw sudden big price hikes -- known as dynamic pricing -- which infuriated fans.

The band has since scheduled two more dates, in September next year.

"We are working at pace to establish the precise factual background to the sale of Oasis tickets on 31 August, and we are keeping open all potential options for action," the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told the government in a letter.

"This includes potential enforcement action where we see evidence of possible breaches of consumer protection law," it added.

Dynamic pricing, where a business adjusts its prices according to changing market conditions, is not in itself unlawful, the CMA noted.

But "where businesses use dynamic pricing or other complex pricing systems, they must not mislead customers about their prices, and must be transparent about how prices are set", it said.

(AFP)

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