Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Consumer rights are protected for purchasing tickets for concerts or sporting events under the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021. The Act regulates the secondary ticket market where tickets are resold after their original purchase from the primary ticket market and where tickets are more likely to be sold above their original sale price, by prohibiting the sale or advertising for sale, of tickets for price exceeding the original sale price for designated events or events taking place in designated venues.

Primary ticket sellers do not fall within the remit of the Sale of Tickets Act 2021. Primary tickets are allocated for sale to primary online platforms by event partners, which includes among others, event organisers, promoters, venues, artists/performers and agents. Event partners determine the conditions around the sale, availability and release of the tickets.

Generally, traders in Ireland, including ticket sellers, are free to set and change their prices for goods and services, based on demand, once they do so independently and in line with consumer protection law. Consumer law requires traders to provide certain information to consumers prior to purchase. This includes the total price, inclusive of taxes, allowing consumers to make the informed choice whether to purchase or not. Consumer law also prohibits businesses from engaging in a misleading commercial practice. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2007, a commercial practice is regarded as misleading if the trader does not act in good faith and misleads the average consumer into taking an action that she/he may otherwise not undertake.

When offering an item for sale or advertising a product or service, misleading practises could include claims regarding:

• the nature of the product/service
• the main characteristics, including its availability at a particular time, place, or at a particular price
• the price of the product/service, the manner in which the price was calculated or the existence and nature of a specific price advantage, and the legal rights of a consumer.

The 2007 Act also prohibits traders from making a false representation that a product is available only for a limited time, or on particular terms for a limited time, in order to elicit an immediate decision from a consumer, depriving the consumer of sufficient opportunity or time to make an informed choice in relation to the trader’s product.

In addition, under the Consumer Information (Advertisements For Concert Or Theatre Performances) Order, 1997, every advertisement for a ticket must show the ticket price and any extra charges payable.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the independent statutory body that enforces competition and consumer law under the remit of my Department, continues to promote and monitor compliance with competition and consumer protection laws across all sectors of the market, including ticket sales, and to investigate potential breaches, prohibited practices and offences. I understand that the CCPC closely monitors the issue of dynamic pricing and indicate that the number of concerts in a year that employ such a model are few.