Oasis fans have been left frustrated after Ticketmaster refunded their tickets for the band’s 2025 reunion tour, mistakenly identifying real customers as bots. Social media was flooded with disgruntled posts as people either tried to contact customer support, or warned other fans to keep an eye on their inbox. This has put Ticketmaster back in the spotlight after a summer dogged by debates around their ticketing policies.
A spokesperson for Ticketmaster has addressed the issue, saying: “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.” However, fans going through the form to appeal their refund and get their tickets back encountered issues with error messages, leaving them to contact customer support again.
If 2025 could actually get any worse – now I don’t even have this to look forward to any more
Denying legit fans their tickets??@oasis @liamgallagher @NoelGallagher @BBCBreaking @NME @Ticketmaster @ticketmasteuk @TMFanSupport pic.twitter.com/UROctkNZ4S
— Jen (@lostinmusic72) February 7, 2025
X user, ‘@lostinmusic72’, posted a screenshot of the email from Ticketmaster, informing them of the decision to refund the ticket. The ticketing platform claimed that the refund had been requested by the band’s tour promoter, and that they had violated the conditions under which the tickets were purchased. The same X user had gone through the presale process, which required customers to correctly answer a question about the first Oasis drummer and should have further proven that they were not a bot.
Not sure what DM has achieved though… I’d already filled a form in. For someone to review what I already know, which is that I’m a human who brought two tickets. No proper explanation of the process, no ability to speak to a human (Ironic really!) — Matthew Ewers (@MatthewEwers) February 7, 2025
The 2025 tour is being promoted by SJM concerts and Live Nation, with the latter also being the owner of Ticketmaster. Prices for the shows started at around £150, but due to dynamic pricing, some fans were being charged upwards of £350 for the same tickets. The public backlash has led to calls for further transparency in ticket pricing, with the original price and dynamic price being displayed side by side, as well as the government planning a consultation for autumn.
Oasis issued a statement on the issue, saying: “”When unprecedented ticket demand is combined with technology that cannot cope with that demand, it becomes less effective and can lead to an unacceptable experience for fans.” The band would later confirm that the same pricing model wouldn’t be applied to the North American leg of the tour, as well as distancing themselves from the decision. “It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management.”
Despite the backlash and Ticketmaster’s central role, some online defend the platform, arguing that it only provides the feature as an option rather than enforcing it. A report by The Sun found that dynamic pricing adjusts costs based on demand, creating an uncertainty in the customer. Sir Chris Bryant, Minister for Creative Industries, said that uncertainty pressures fans into panic-buying, fearful of missing out.
The panic spread across to Reddit too, with the subreddit r/Oasis being flooded with anxious fans checking their emails, hoping not to receive an email with a refund confirmation. The subreddit also saw criticism aimed at Ticketmaster for acting so late, suggesting that anybody using bots would have bought the tickets and sold them on by now, with real fans being the ones missing out.
Comment byu/secret-lyrics from discussion inoasis
Oasis, their management, or their promoters have yet to comment on the issue. Fans who until this week thought they would be attending this once-in-a-lifetime experience, were falsely accused of being ‘bots’ and forced to request a reissue of their ticket through an error-prone online form. With a summer of shows and festivals around the corner, the government’s autumn consultation may not come soon enough.
