Following a barrage of complaints regarding the price of tickets for the highly anticipated Oasis gigs, which more than doubled while they were on sale, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) took notice.
Because of dynamic pricing mechanisms that can increase prices in the event of great demand and limited supply, tickets costing £148 were selling for £355 on Ticketmaster within hours of their release on Saturday.
As the tickets sold out and supporters licked their wounds, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy later announced a government study of so-called surge pricing.
The CMA is immediately examining recent developments in the tickets market, particularly the application of dynamic pricing in the primary market, according to a CMA representative on Tuesday.
Businesses are required by consumer protection law to treat customers fairly, to be open and honest with them, and to provide accurate and lucid information about the costs involved.
To make sure consumer legislation is being respected, we have already taken action against significant secondary market resale websites. However, we believe that there should be stronger consumer protections in this area, and in 2021 we recommended these measures to the previous government.
