Ireland’s consumer watchdog has opened an official investigation into Ticketmaster over its handling of the sale of Oasis tickets last weekend.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said it was prompted to act after receiving more than 100 complaints from disappointed fans of the band, which is to play in Croke Park next summer.
Concerns have been expressed by fans and politicians over how the sale was conducted and the manner in which “dynamic pricing” saw tickets for the same parts of the stadium more than double in price over the course of last Saturday morning.
“The CCPC has reviewed more than 100 contacts from consumers who are very disappointed and frustrated about their experience of buying tickets for Oasis concerts,” chairman of the CCPC Brian McHugh said.
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“While companies in Ireland are allowed to respond to market demand, there are legitimate concerns over how consumers were treated, and we have decided that an in-depth investigation is necessary. If we find that consumer protection laws were broken, we will take action.”
Mr McHugh expressed gratitude to consumers “who have taken the time to call or email our helpline to share their experiences with us, as their stories have helped us develop a picture of last weekend’s events”.
The CCPC said it would welcome written comments and any supporting materials from consumers about their experience of buying, or attempting to buy, Oasis tickets last weekend, and said they could be emailed to its dedicated investigation team at CEDinvestigation@ccpc.ie
“As an investigation has now been opened, the CCPC cannot provide further comment at this time,” a statement issued on Friday evening concluded.
Earlier this week, Oasis said it had at “no time had any awareness” that dynamic pricing was being used to sell tickets to its sold-out shows in Ireland and Britain and said decisions on ticketing and pricing had been left “entirely to their promoters and management”.
Oasis said the decision to go for dynamic pricing was made by Ticketmaster and the band’s management as part of a “positive sales strategy which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting”.
The statement did not explain how dynamic pricing, which sees prices go up if there is sufficient demand, was supposed to achieve this aim.
Ticketmaster has said it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the “event organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.
An acting spokesman for the European Commission confirmed it is working on a “fitness check” of EU consumer law on digital fairness, which it plans to adopt this autumn. The use of dynamic pricing will be part of this review.
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