Ireland’s consumer watchdog has said there are now “legitimate concerns around the consumer experiences of buying concert tickets” for Oasis and it is “actively reviewing the situation” following Government intervention.
It comes after a weekend which saw hundreds of thousands of Oasis fans queue for hours on the Ticketmaster platform for hours for a chance to see the band play in Croke Park next summer.
Heightened demand saw the cost of some tickets increasing on the official seller’s website by hundreds of euro on Saturday morning as so called in-demand pricing was deployed.
The concert promoter MCD initially advertised tickets for next August’s shows “from €86.50″ but as the general sale progressed on Saturday, Ticketmaster deployed what is also known as dynamic pricing which saw standing tickets for the Croke Park pitch reach €415, not including a service charge of more than €10 imposed by Ticketmaster.
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The dramatic price jumps sparked outrage among many fans and calls for an investigation.
In response to queries from The Irish Times over the weekend the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said that under consumer law in Ireland, people only have to be “clearly informed of the full price of a product, including fees, before they buy”.
A spokeswoman said the commission’s role “in the context of ticket prices is to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information, for example, that they were told of all booking and related charges before they paid”.
[ Oasis tickets controversy: Is ‘dynamic pricing’ any better than touting?Opens in new window ]
However, a CCPC spokeswoman said on Monday that a review is under way and it will now “consider all options to ensure consumer protection law is followed”.
The Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said he was “committed to ensuring consumers are provided with sufficient pricing information before they choose to purchase a product or service, including tickets” and noted that the manner in which Oasis tickets were sold over the weekend “caused distress among some consumers and I have asked the CCPC to report to me on their review of pricing strategies employed.”
Junior minister Dara Calleary added that under consumer law traders must provide information to consumers on price allowing then “to make informed decisions in advance of purchasing tickets. It is vital that consumers are aware of their rights and my department will continue to work with the CCPC on protecting consumers in this area.”
The department said that when it comes to dynamic pricing businesses “can decide on the prices of the products they sell, and they are permitted to adjust their prices in response to demand or other factors, once an accurate price is displayed to the consumer in advance of the sale so that the consumer can decide if they want to proceed. This must be in line with consumer protection law.”
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