Consumer champion Which? call on Ticketmaster to refund fans hit by “in demand” Oasis reunion ticket prices
The UK’s biggest consumer champion brand Which? has called for Ticketmaster to refund fans who were hit by the unexpected surge in prices for “in demand” tickets to Oasis‘ 2025 reunion tour.
Tickets for the 2025 stadium tour went on sale on August 31 and sold out at 7pm but not before some fans found they were priced out of tickets when they went to buy them, as the use of dynamic pricing meant the cost of tickets would go up or down without warning based on demand.
This led to some fans who had been in the queue the entire day paying £355 for a ticket which was originally £135 when it came to confirm their purchase. Ticketmaster had previously clarified on their website that ticket pieces “may increase or decrease at any time, based on demand. This is similar to how airline tickets and hotel rooms are sold.”
Now, consumer brand Which? has called for Ticketmaster to “do the right thing and refund the difference to fans who may have been misled into paying huge sums for tickets that were half the price just hours earlier”.
According to screenshots provided to Which? by fans affected by the dynamic pricing, Which? claims that Ticketmaster’s pages showed no signs of inflated prices being implemented during the sale.
Which? has also stated that it believes Ticketmaster’s “lack of transparency” about its dynamic pricing “could have breached the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) as many fans were not informed about the increases until after they had already tried to add cheaper tickets to their baskets”.
Lisa Webb, Which?’s consumer law expert said in a statement: “It seems extremely unfair that Oasis fans got up early and battled through the queues only to find that tickets prices had more than doubled from the originally advertised price.
“Which? believes that Ticketmaster’s ‘in demand’ pricing practices for Oasis tickets could have breached consumer law as it appears fans weren’t properly warned about the use of ‘in demand’ pricing until far too late in the purchase journey – leading to a nasty shock at the checkout.
“Oasis and Ticketmaster should do the right thing and refund fans who may have been misled into paying over the odds for tickets that would have been half the price just hours earlier.”
Last week, Oasis shared an official statement, distancing themselves from the ‘dynamic pricing’ policy and stating that they were unaware that prices would be hiked up so drastically: “It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.”
They continued: “While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale 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 execution of the plan failed to meet expectations. All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
A representative for Ticketmaster commented when approached by Which?: “We are committed to cooperating with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and look forward to sharing more facts about the ticket sale with them.”
NME has approached Oasis’ team and Ticketmaster for additional comment.
The controversial use of ‘surge pricing’ for the reunion is now being investigated by the CMA – Which? has confirmed that it “will be sharing its findings with the Competition and Markets Authority for their investigation into Ticketmaster’s pricing practices”.
Additionally, lawmakers are looking to introduce new legislation in the Republic of Ireland that would ban dynamic pricing. Jim O’Callaghan TD is looking to extend the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act that came into effect in 2021, and banned the reselling of tickets above face value.
O’Callaghan said the 2021 Act “protected fans” from missing out on tickets and from “seeing those same tickets for sale on a secondary site for far more than they can afford or would be happy to pay. It now must be extended so we can protect fans from the experience of seeing ‘in demand’ tickets jumping significantly above the asking price that was initially advertised.”
The controversy has led Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to call for a review into dynamic pricing and secondary ticket sales, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the price hikes “depressing”. In addition, the European Commission is also now investigating the issue.
Oasis have also announced “a small step towards making amends for the situation” with “a special invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy” for two new Wembley gigs on September 27 and 28 next year.
Oasis’ full upcoming 2025 reunion tour dates are:
JULY 2025
4 – Cardiff, Principality Stadium (SOLD OUT)
5 – Cardiff, Principality Stadium (SOLD OUT)
11 – Manchester, Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
12 – Manchester, Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
16 – Manchester, Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
19 – Manchester, Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
20 – Manchester, Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
25 – London, Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
26 – London, Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
30 – London, Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
AUGUST 2025
2 – London, Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
3 – London, Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
8 – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (SOLD OUT)
9 – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (SOLD OUT)
12 – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (SOLD OUT)
16 – Dublin, Croke Park (SOLD OUT)
17 – Dublin, Croke Park (SOLD OUT)
SEPTEMBER 2025
27 – London, Wembley Stadium (NEW)
28 – London, Wembley Stadium (NEW)
The post Consumer champion Which? call on Ticketmaster to refund fans hit by “in demand” Oasis reunion ticket prices appeared first on NME.
Surej Singh
NME
