Lawyers have said that Oasis fans, who previously complained, could sue Ticketmaster over the dynamic pricing model used to sell tickets for the band’s reunion tour. Specialists have said that the use of the controversial sales system, which sees prices increase when demand is high and supply is low, may have breached consumer law.
Oasis fans could sue the band
Customers were not told in advance that prices would more than double from the advertised £148 to £355. The Government and the Competition and Markets Authority, the competition regulator, are both conducting reviews of dynamic pricing in response to a growing backlash against the model.
Richard Pike, a partner at Fieldfisher, told The Telegraph that those who bought tickets could join forces to bring collective action against Ticketmaster.
“They could be for breaches of consumer law, or common law actions, misrepresentation,” he said. “There are all sorts of things they could do there.
“They’d have to bring a High Court claim. The way it works is, like the adverts you see on TV saying, ‘Have you had an accident? Did you buy PPI?’, it would be like, ‘Did you buy an Oasis ticket for quite an expensive price?’
“You could theoretically do that. In terms of the merits of action, I think there are arguments there.
“I don’t know about you but I wasn’t expecting there to be this dynamic pricing. ‘They’re taking advantage of you’
“It only became apparent after I’d been on the phone for quite some time already.
“You can see psychologically there’s commitment there.
“When you’ve waited that long already, you’re liable to pay more than you otherwise would. They are taking advantage of you.”
Pike added that the viability of the action would depend on the total value of damages, which would only be several hundred of pounds per person and may not cover the costs of bringing legal action.
Meanwhile, joint PPI claims can seek damages worth thousands of pounds per person.
Tickets for the Britpop band’s long-awaited reunion tour were only available through Ticketmaster, the online ticket seller, which raised prices because of intense demand.
Lawyers noted that the fact queuing customers were not told how many tickets were left or how many others were queuing behind them represented potential breaches of consumer protection legislation.
Those laws do not prohibit dynamic pricing, which is widely used in several industries, including airline ticketing and taxi-hire apps. However, businesses are not allowed to deceive consumers about the price they pay for a product.
Retailers are also not allowed to provide false or deceptive information, leave out important information or provide it too late. Trading Standards said on Monday that Ticketmaster might have breached the law by not informing customers that prices would rise if demand was high before they started queuing.
Maksymilian Hara, a senior associate solicitor who specializes in competition disputes at Leigh Day, said that if there was a breach of competition rules, fans of the band could in principle be entitled to bring a joint claim under competition law at the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
