Harry Styles fans are furious after Ticketmaster sold them ‘Platinum’ tickets for nearly €200 – even though there was no special privileges or area on offer in Slane.
Lunchtime Live listener Sharon says she felt ‘misled’ by the ticket seller after buying four special tickets to Saturdays show at twice the price.
“The general admission tickets were €97, and I went online straight away, and I wasn't offered the €97 tickets,” she said.
“Within minutes I was offered platinum tickets at €180 plus fees – so they came to just under €190 each– and I bought four tickets.
“I just felt I was pressured into it.”
‘Something better’
Sharon said she bought the tickets on the premise that ‘platinum’ inferred she would get “something better” for her money.
“We arrived at the concert in Slane, we initially showed our tickets at the outside area and in the inside area and we were directed to a certain area,” she said.
“We were refused entrance and we were told that, in actual fact, our tickets were just general admission tickets.
“We were in the same area as everybody else that just paid €97."
10/06/2023 Dublin Ireland. Fans make their way to the Harry Styles concert in Slane. Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ieSharon said Slane staff told her that “hundreds of people” who had bought the premium tickets approached them looking for the “premium” area.
“She sent me to customer care, which was an ordeal to get to in Slane,” she said.
“There were no representatives from Ticketmaster, there were just people there on a one-day hire and they were extremely sympathetic and really, really nice – but they could do nothing.
“They said there were no platinum areas in existence, there was just general admission.
“Clearly I'm not the only person who was misled here.”
Contacting Ticketmaster
Sharon had contacted Ticketmaster prior to the concert, to find out what benefits they would avail of at Slane.
“Their reply said, ‘Platinum tickets are premium tickets made available to artists and event organisers through Ticketmaster. These tickets give safe and fair access to some of the most in-demand tickets in-house at market-driven prices,’” she said.
10/06/2023 Dublin Ireland. Fans get ready for the Harry Styles concert in Slane. Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ieConsumer expert and The Home Show presenter Sinead Ryan said this is a problem that has “come up again and again with regard to Ticketmaster.”
“[Ticketmaster] said what you're paying for is just the tickets. There aren't any added extras. There aren't any VIP or hospitality elements, and platinum tickets aren't part of a special package,” she said.
“That is on the website, and I suppose if you went in and dug around, you would find that information.
“The word ‘platinum’ would seem to designate some special product or service – I couldn't find it; Ticketmaster can't find it.
“It's simply then just a way to garner higher prices from exactly the same tickets and at best that's very unclear and at worst it's downright misleading.”
Legislation
Sinead said something needs to be done about Ticketmaster “at a higher level.”
“There is probably some form of legislation that could be brought in at a governmental level, that says you cannot describe something as special or different or above something else if it is clearly not,” she said.
“To use the word 'platinum', which was which is a very precious metal, it's like the golden ticket or the silver ticket.
“An ordinary person would read that to mean that they are getting a specialised service.”
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