How MPs want to prevent another Oasis ticket scandal

From the political producer Elisa Menendez

A bill that would make it illegal for ticket sellers to increase prices while people wait to buy online is set to be debated in the House of Commons on Friday.

The Ticket Sales (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill was tabled by Labor MP Rupa Huq following the backlash to the Oasis reunion tour, which saw some fans pay hundreds more than they expected due to “dynamic pricing”. had.

Huq wants the law to be changed to improve transparency in ticket sales and prevent fans from being ripped off.

ITV News believes that under the proposed law it would be a crime to sell tickets to sporting and cultural events without telling buyers waiting in online queues the price and number of tickets available at that price.

It would also be an offense to sell a ticket without the price for which it was sold printed on the front.

Anyone who fails to do so – which applies to anyone selling tickets in England and Wales, including ticket sales companies – will face a conviction and a fine.

Ticket sellers must also provide real-time updates to buyers waiting in online queues, showing how many tickets are available, what type of tickets they are and what the prices are, Huq told ITV News.

Rupa Huq explains the measures that would be taken to ensure that buyers are not cheated

“As they go down, that updates in real time and so does the price,” she said.

“So you can leave the queue whenever you want because the pressure on people (Oasis fans) was huge – they felt like it was a bit of a guns-to-the-head situation after spending so much time had invested.

“They felt like they had to buy it. And then, you know, afterwards the buyers might regret the price they had to pay.”

“You wouldn’t take a can of beans off the shelf in the supermarket and then double, triple or quintuple the price at the checkout, so it’s just a consumer justice measure for transparency,” the MP for Ealing Central and Acton added.

Huq, who said she saw Oasis live in the 1990s, told the House of Commons last week that since the private members’ bill was introduced she has been “inundated with suggestions and support from people around the world who don’t want another Oasis-style ticket scandal.” want”.

Fans of the legendary Britpop band were stunned when they were charged more than double the advertised price for tickets after waiting hours in an online Ticketmaster queue.

Many who queued in the hope of snapping up the coveted tickets did so believing they would be charged £148 for a standard ticket, but when they got to the payment page they were shocked to discover that the price had risen to £355.

Consumer watchdog Which one? has called on Oasis and Ticketmaster to refund fans affected by the inflated costs, saying there was evidence that fans were not shown a warning that prices would rise during the sale.

Ticketmaster said “all ticket prices are set by the tour,” but Oasis said they were unaware that dynamic pricing – where prices fluctuate based on demand – would be used.

The UK government and competition watchdog have pledged to look into ticket resales and dynamic pricing – but ministers have also acknowledged the practice can be beneficial if it offers cheaper early bird tickets.

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said the issue was “incredibly important to fans across the country”.

“We have announced a consultation to put fans back at the heart of ticket sales in this country,” she told Huq in the House of Commons last week.

“The consultation will discuss how best to do this, not whether it can be done, and we will share more about this shortly.”

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