FURIOUS Oasis and Nicki Minaj fans inundated the consumer watchdog with complaints which resulted in Ticketmaster becoming the most complained about company in Ireland last year.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission released their annual report which showed that their helpline got more calls about Ticketmaster than any other company.
Some 614 people called the consumer watchdog over Ticketmaster followed by 604 who had issues with Eir and 554 who had problems with Ryanair.
In comparison, Ticketmaster did not even make the top ten companies that the CCPC were contacted about in 2023.
Asked about what complaints people were contacting the watchdog about regarding Ticketmaster, a spokesperson told the Irish Sun that it was largely driven by issues with Oasis and Nicki Minaj concerts.
Nicki Minaj fans were left outraged last year after the Superbass singer was an hour and a half late for her show at Dublin’s Malahide Castle.
The pop star was then only on the stage for less than an hour which included costume changes.
Oasis fans flooded the CCPC with calls after a dynamic pricing strategy saw the cost of tickets for their Croke Park shows shoot from €86 up to €400 for the exact same seats.
The Manchester brothers’ long-awaited reunion tour shows in Croke Park sold out, with fans claiming they were ripped off due to the last-minute surge in prices.
The ticketing fiasco led to Fianna Fail backbenchers proposing a bill to outlaw dynamic pricing while the CCPC was called in to investigate – a probe that is still ongoing.
A spokesperson for the CCPC told the Irish Sun: “Contacts relating to Ticketmaster were varied but included complaints around dynamic pricing, pricing in general, refunds and ticket availability.
“The majority of these related to the sale of Oasis tickets in August 2024 and a Nicki Minaj concert in Malahide in July 2024.
“All cases where there was a potential breach of consumer legislation reported were passed to our enforcement division for information and screening purposes.
“On Friday 6 September 2024, the CCPC announced an investigation into Ticketmaster Ireland and its handling of the sale of Oasis tickets.
“As the investigation is ongoing, the CCPC is not in a position to provide any further information at this time.”
Almost 45,000 people contacted the consumer watchdog last year over a range of issues from faulty goods to the high price of second hand cars.
‘THESE AREN’T TRIVIAL’
CCPC spokesperson Grainne Griffin said: “Our helpline reports shine a light on the challenges faced day to day by consumers; these aren’t trivial, and neither are the costs involved.
“The average cost quoted by a consumer calling our helpline was just over six thousand euros. This is driven by very high costs related to second-hand cars and home improvements.
“Unfortunately for those consumers, they will not be able to use the small claims process to resolve their issue, because the small claims court only deals with cases up to €2,000. This limit urgently needs to be addressed.”
