Oasis Fans Outraged as Ticketmaster Begins Canceling Bots Tickets
Thousands of tickets to Oasis’ reunion shows next year will be invalidated for being improperly sold on resale platforms.
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Some Oasis fans hoping to see the band’s 2025 reunion tour have had their dreams “crushed” as Ticketmaster has begun canceling tickets the company believes were purchased via bots.
According to the Guardian, Ticketmaster started the crackdown this weekend, with ticket buyers — many of whom claim to have legitimately purchased tickets — being informed over email that their tickets were being refunded.
“It has been identified that bots were used to make this purchase” which “violate the tour’s terms and conditions,” the email read.
“These terms were specifically established to limit resale of tickets on unauthorized ticketing platforms for profit. Fans have been strongly advised by all parties not to purchase tickets from unauthorized resale sites, to protect them from fraud or refunding.”
“To say that we’re bots is totally out of order for Ticketmaster because we tried all day to get the tickets,” fan Leighah Conroy, whose tickets for Oasis’ Manchester show were canceled, told the Guardian. “Our heads have been pretty battered these past 24 hours. I felt sick in the stomach. It’s a band you’ll never experience or see again and it’s been on my bucket list for years. It just feels like my dreams have been completely crushed.”
Another fan who claimed to buy tickets legitimately — and purchased non-refundable plane tickets to attend the concert — said of the Ticketmaster email, “At first we thought this email was fake or a spam email, but no, it was true.”
In response to the uproar over canceled tickets, Ticketmaster published an Oasis Refunds FAQ, noting that, “Ticketmaster and See Tickets will, from 7th February, start the process of refunding tickets that are believed to have broken the terms and conditions put in place for the tour.
“The examination of ticket sales is ongoing and the results will be passed to relevant law enforcement once complete where appropriate,” the page adds. “Refunded tickets will be made available again at face value in due course from the official ticket agent Ticketmaster. All parties involved with the tour continue to urge fans not to purchase tickets from unauthorized websites as some of these may be fraudulent and others subject to refunding.”
The situation isn’t completely hopeless for legit (non-bots) costumers whose tickets were canceled, as Ticketmaster recommended that “anyone who has been contacted and believes a refund was made in error has been sent a form to fill in for the tour’s promoters to review.”
From Rolling Stone US.
