The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over the sale of tickets for Oasis’ reunion concerts.

The investigation follows widely-reported stories of fans encountering difficulties when attempting to buy tickets. In particular, there was criticism of Ticketmaster for its use of ‘dynamic pricing’, an increasingly popular mechanism whereby a business adjusts its prices according to changing market conditions such as high demand. Whilst the announcement from the CMA makes clear that this practice is not “automatically unlawful, it may breach consumer protection law in certain circumstances”.

The CMA has said that it will investigate how dynamic pricing was used by Ticketmaster and what information buyers were given about the price of tickets as they went through the process of buying tickets, particularly before they reached the check-out. It notes that “consumer law is clear – ticket sales sites must be transparent in their dealings with consumers and give clear and accurate information about the price people have to pay. Failure to do so may breach the law.”

In addition to dynamic pricing, the CMA has announced that the investigation will also consider matters including whether Ticketmaster engaged in unfair commercial practices that are prohibited under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and whether people were “put under pressure to buy tickets within a short period of time – at a higher price than they understood they would have to pay, potentially impacting their purchasing decisions”. The CMA has stated that it is “working at pace” to establish the relevant facts surrounding the sale of the tickets and that it is “keeping open all potential options for action. This includes potential enforcement action where we see evidence of possible breaches of consumer protection law.”

The CMA investigation comes as the Government is poised to launch a consultation this autumn into secondary ticket sales as part of its election manifesto pledge to introduce “new consumer protections on ticket resales”. In the light of the recent events surrounding the Oasis reunion, the CMA wrote to the Secretaries of State at the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Culture, Media and Sport stating that it is ready to assist as the Government develops its policy in this area. Shortly thereafter, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, confirmed that the Government’s consultation into ticket resales will also include “issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it”.

To read more about the CMA investigation, click here.