Please note that this News item is not maintained, and reflects the law as at the date of publication or update.
For many people in the UK, the announcement that Oasis was reuniting for a series of dates at venues across the country was a dream come true. However, in a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’, the dream turned into a nightmare for thousands of would-be attendees. One of the more notorious issues was that of Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’. Dynamic pricing is the system by which prices for a product can fluctuate in almost real-time based on market forces. In this case, it was obvious that demand far outstripped supply and therefore some users, having spent all day waiting for tickets, were met with vastly increased prices for tickets.
But is this legal? Up until recently, many in the UK were likely unfamiliar with dynamic pricing, but since the Oasis debacle, the very concept of dynamic pricing has been placed under intense scrutiny. Whilst dynamic pricing is not in and of itself illegal, many commentators note that a failure by Ticketmaster to adequately warn consumers about the use of dynamic pricing may amount to a breach of consumer protection laws if it caused the average consumer to take a different transactional decision.
Half the world away, this issue is now being addressed, with Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, announcing that the Federal Government of Australia is looking to ban the practice. Could a similar move happen in the UK? The Labour government has indicated that dynamic pricing will be included in part of a review of unfair ticket sale practices, so expect some change in this area of consumer protection law.
Ultimately, this whole scenario has shown the importance of placing the consumer at the heart of commercial practices. Here at Gaby Hardwicke, our commercial lawyers are happy to assist businesses with their consumer protection obligations both through bespoke commercial contracts and more general commercial advice. Please contact:-
