Controversial “dynamic pricing” has arrived in English football, the Guardian can reveal, after a company backed by sports stars including theEnglandmen’s football captain, Harry Kane, charged more than £3,000 for two seats at the FA Cup final.
Seat Unique, which sells VIP hospitality packages for events, has won endorsements and even financial backing from professional athletes and sports teams, promising to deliver “exceptional, authentic experiences to fans”.
But the London-based company has been accused of acting “like a ticket tout” after it slashed the price of Cup final hospitality tickets shortly after a customer had bought a pair to cheer up her football-mad nephew.
In emails to the customer, a Seat Unique employee conceded that its pricing structure could be “confusing”.
It said this was because it had used dynamic pricing, a tactic thatproved so unpopular when Oasis used itfor their reunion tour that the government decided to include it in aconsultation on whether to change consumer law.
The employee said the price of itsFA Cupfinal tickets could fluctuate “just like with aeroplane tickets or hotels”.
A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium, which is owned by the Football Association, said it sold a limited number of hospitality packages through third-party agents, such as Seat Unique. It said the agents “set the prices for these packages, and we do not have approval rights on their pricing model”.
The use of the controversial pricing model for the FA Cup final, the showpiece event of the oldest football competition in the world, is likely to provoke fury from fans, in the light of simmering resentment about high ticket prices.
Tom Greatrex, the chair of the Football Supporters’ Association, said: “Football clubs and the football authorities need to take a hard look at the ‘secondary ticketing’ platforms with whom they sign commercial deals, as we don’t accept there is any need for such “dynamic” pricing in football.
“It’s a smokescreen for exploitative pricing models and supporters won’t stand for it.”
The use of dynamic pricing came to light thanks to a fan who told the Guardian that she felt “exploited” after buying two Cup final tickets for more than £1,500 each, only to see them advertised for £399, less than two weeks later.
“My nephew is eight, he’s a huge Man City fan and he’s been having a really difficult time so I wanted to do something to cheer him up a bit,” said Gabrielle, who asked for her name to be changed because she doesn’t want her family to know how much she spent.
She said she did not know much about football and was unaware that a ticket to see Manchester City play Crystal Palace for the trophy was unlikely to command such a high sum.
“The price [for a hospitality package] came up and I thought ‘bloody hell, that’s too much’. I’m a teacher and I don’t earn a lot.
“But I thought I’d put it on the credit card and pay it off over the next few months.”
Less than two weeks later, she grew nervous about whether Seat Unique was a genuine vendor and logged on to the site again, only to find that prices for the same package had tumbled dramatically, to £399.
“It’s blown up wildly in my face and they [Seat Unique] are not even sorry, they couldn’t care less,” she said.
Soon after Gabrielle bought the tickets, a sales representative rang her to offer her more tickets for other events.
When she raised concerns about the fall in price, another agent acknowledged the company’s pricing structure “can be slightly confusing” but said it was due to dynamic pricing, according to communication seen by the Guardian.
When she asked if Seat Unique would consider a “goodwill gesture” such as a partial refund or an upgrade to a seat in a corporate box – the price of which had fallen to a similar level to the inferior package she had bought – the company stopped responding.
Gabrielle said she did not see any indication that dynamic pricing was in use when buying the ticket, information that might have influenced her decision, given negative publicity surrounding the use of it on the Oasis reunion tour.
“If I had known that Seat Unique operated more like a ticket tout, I never would have purchased from them,” she said.
When the Guardian initiated a test purchase for Cup final tickets, no information about dynamic pricing appeared to be disclosed. A company employee rang moments later to offer to help complete the abandoned transaction.
A Wembley spokesperson said Seat Unique’s website made clear that prices could go up or down, although it was not clear where this was disclosed and Seat Unique did not respond to a question about this.
“Fans will be understandably frustrated if companies aren’t transparent about using dynamic pricing – especially for popular events like the FA Cup,” said Lisa Webb of the consumer group Which?
“Seat Unique must ensure it is upfront about its pricing practices so fans can make informed decisions about whether to buy tickets at a higher price or wait to see if prices fall.”
Seat Unique was recently valued at about £100m in a fundraising round that it announced included investment from Kane. Other notable backers include: former British and Irish Lions and Wales rugby union captain Sam Warburton; England cricket captain Ben Stokes; former fast bowler Stuart Broad; former England football international John Terry; Olympic athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill; Rugby World Cup-winning manager Sir Clive Woodward; and scrum half Matt Dawson.
There is no suggestion that any of them knew of Seat Unique’s dynamic pricing model for the FA Cup final.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Seat Unique is an official platform that provides fans with access to the very best live experiences at the very best live events.
“We care passionately about the fan experience, which starts with a fair, transparent and accessible booking process. Prices are always clearly advertised with no hidden booking fees and if customers ever feel like we have not fulfilled our promises, we always look to rectify that where we can.”