My daughter regrets paying too much for Oasis tickets. Can she get her money back? DEAN DUNHAM replies
My daughter spent hours in an online queue to buy tickets for Oasis next year. When she finally reached the final screen, the tickets were more than double the advertised price.
She panicked and bought two, but now she’s in the red and regretting her decision. Can she get her money back?
SW, via email.
Surge: Reader’s daughter was caught in the ticket buying chaos when so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ caused advertised ticket prices to more than double
Dean Dunham responds: In 2022, Ticketmaster, the official ticket seller for Oasis concerts, introduced ‘dynamic pricing’, where the cost of tickets increases as demand increases. So if, as we saw with Oasis, fans buy tickets online in their thousands, prices will increase.
In the past, Ticketmaster has defended this by saying that it was introduced to combat touts and ensure that a greater percentage of the money goes to the artists. While this may be the case, I believe that this practice may be in breach of consumer law.
The Regulation for the Protection of Consumers against Unfair Trading (better known as the Consumer Protection Regulation) describes a number of practices that are prohibited or may be considered ‘unfair’ to consumers.
‘Bait advertising’, where a trader advertises goods or services at a certain price to attract the attention of consumers, knowing that the product will eventually be sold at a higher price, is one of the practices considered potentially unfair.
This is what happened here with Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model. Your daughter and many other Oasis fans saw a clear advertised price (or perhaps a price range) for the tickets and decided that this amount was affordable or acceptable, so they began the long online journey to make a purchase.
When she got into the online queue at the last minute, she was given the opportunity to purchase tickets, but at a much higher price.
If your daughter regrets her decision so much that she wants her money back, she can ask Ticketmaster to cancel the ticket order and refund her money, on the grounds that the contract is ‘unfair’.
If that doesn’t work, she can make a chargeback claim, if she paid by debit card, or a Section 75 claim (under the Consumer Credit Act 1974) if she paid by credit card. In either case, she will have to say that she wants a refund because the contract is unfair.
Taxi bill for cancelled buses
My local bus company often cancels a service, meaning I have to wait an hour for the next one or take a taxi into town. What are my rights? Can I send my taxi fare to the company?
A. Finch, Newmarket.
Dean Dunham responds: If a flight is delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation under the UK261 law. You have similar rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for train and ferry delays.
However, bus passengers do not have the same protection when it comes to local travel, as the Consumer Rights Act unfortunately does not cover compensation rights when it comes to bus delays.
or cancellations. Instead, it is best to complain directly to the bus company.
In your case, you can ask for reimbursement of the taxi costs and indicate that you had to pay the costs yourself because the bus was delayed or cancelled.
Be prepared to get a ‘no’ as traders (including bus companies) often do not want to pay out for what we call ‘consequential damages’, such as a taxi ride.
If you have purchased a ticket in advance, the bus company will refund the amount.
The Traffic Commissioners are the regulators of the bus industry and the registrars in their traffic areas of all local bus services (as defined in section 6 of the Transport Act 1985). They have powers under that Act to take action against operators who consistently run late.
The sanctions range from fines to the ultimate sanction: withdrawing a bus company’s concession to operate a bus service.
Therefore, it is worth mentioning in your complaint to your bus company that if you do not get your taxi fare reimbursed, you will file a formal complaint with the traffic commissioner. This will probably be very convincing.
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