Christopher BarrettLabour MP Rupa Huq has put forward the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill, in response to the controversial dynamic pricing model used for the Oasis tour.
Huq, who is the MP for Ealing Central and Acton, said that should the Bill become law, fans would be given a guaranteed maximum price at the beginning of the ticket-buying process. The Bill will receive its second reading in Parliament on 6 December.
Describing herself as a lifelong music fan, Huq said, “I, like many of the nation, was scandalised to see the recent situation where people were queuing up for the best part of a day to get Oasis tickets.
“And the pressure is immense when you’re refreshing for six hours to find yourself then finally at the top of the queue, you feel you have to go for it. But by then the ticket is five times the price of what you thought it was when advertised.
“From a consumer protection point of view, our constituents would like some certainty and so this Bill would enshrine in statute a maximum price.”
The UK government and the Competition and Markets Authority are investigating Ticketmaster’s use of dynamic pricing for the initial dates of the Oasis UK tour, after it sparked widespread complaints from consumers. The Oasis onsale saw fans left waiting for hours in an online queue before unexpectedly facing the prospect of inflated prices of £355 for standing tickets that were shown as being £135 at the outset.
Earlier this month, Oasis declared that secondary ticketing would not be used for the band’s North American leg of the tour. Oasis’ management said, “Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model will not be applied to the forthcoming sale of tickets to Oasis concerts in North America. It is widely accepted that dynamic pricing remains a useful tool to combat ticket touting and keep prices for a significant proportion of fans lower than the market rate and thus more affordable.”