MSE News: Concert booking fees getting beyond a joke, Which? says

Jools115 · 18 December 2013 at 2:25PM

Ticketmaster wanted to charge me £1.75 for the pleasure of printing out the tickets on MY printer at home. They called it a delivery charge!! This was on top of all their other exorbitant 'fees'.

I went elsewhere and got better seats at a better price with less fees.

I've got teenagers who want to see as many bands as they can but all the fees on top of the already high price of tickets puts me off buying them. And when you're talking about tickets for gigs in London or further away I can't get to the venue to buy them.

It started with them passing their credit card charges onto the customer and now they're really taking the mickey. What on earth is a convenience charge?!?

Coconutt · 18 December 2013 at 4:07PM

I quite agree.

I recently bought two tickets for the O2 Arena,
via the Internet using the O2 Arena official web site.

The tickets I bought were expensive enough at £95.00 each,
but then they had the nerve to charge an extra £1 per ticket "Facility Fee", plus a whopping £10.75 PER TICKET as a "Service Charge", although the Invoice showed a Zero fee for having "Electronic Tickets" !

I really would like to know how they can justify charging me £23.50 in fees, when it is ME that has done all the work in making the Booking on their Web site.

The ticketing company that invoiced me were called "AXS Guest Services".

I am in the process of writing to the O2 Arena and "AXS Guest Services" to let them know exactly what I think of their outrageous charges.

If it wasn't for the fact that Iwas purchasing these tickets as a surprise gift for my wife, I would not have made the booking, and until they come up with some more realistic "Fees" I shall not be booking with them again.

saffy202 · 18 December 2013 at 4:39PM

Not just concerts - my son wanted to go to a football match last weekend. He went up early to buy the tickets before they sold out and a booking fee was added.

silvercar · 18 December 2013 at 5:20PM

I booked through the National Theatre and had no charges at all. Going to see a show at a different theatre and collecting tickets at the Box Office and the National didn't charge any extras.:j

Pincher · 19 December 2013 at 6:30AM

What about the Half Price con for cheating tourists?

The front two rows of the Stalls didn't used to be extra expensive 30 years ago. The Half Price Ticket Booth in Leicester Square used to have genuine bargains. Now they simply double the list price for the two front rows, and allocate them for "half price" sale. By going to the Garrick Theatre direct on the day, Rock of Ages (now closed) was cheaper than the Half Price Ticket Booth with a wider selection of seats.

prowla · 19 December 2013 at 8:24AM

Pincher wrote: »

What about the Half Price con for cheating tourists?

The front two rows of the Stalls didn't used to be extra expensive 30 years ago. The Half Price Ticket Booth in Leicester Square used to have genuine bargains. Now they simply double the list price for the two front rows, and allocate them for "half price" sale. By going to the Garrick Theatre direct on the day, Rock of Ages (now closed) was cheaper than the Half Price Ticket Booth with a wider selection of seats.

Is sale of goods (or whatever) applicable on that, whereby items offered in a sale have to have been at the higher price for some period of time, as opposed to being permanently "on sale"?

toasterman · 19 December 2013 at 3:25PM

Ectophile wrote: »

If I want to book tickets at a local venue, I now make a point of going to the box office and paying in cash. It seems to be the only way to avoid the fees completely.

Don't you believe it. Colston Hall in Bristol now charges a 7.5% "administration fee" per ticket, even if you go down there in person and pay in cash.
There's also a £1.50 "delivery fee" per transaction if you order online, or over the phone.

My sister booked tickets for somewhere in Cardiff and there was a fee for having the tickets delivered, or pretty much the same fee for a "collection charge" (you going there and picking them up).

When there's a £3 delivery or a £3 collection, why don't they just increase the ticket price by £3, and save us all the bother of getting annoyed at unavoidable addon fees.
The supermarkets would never get away with advertising a loaf of bread for £1 and then tacking on a 50p service charge towards the wages of the checkout operator. I don't know why/how theatres and arenas are allowed to do the same.

alanjuk · 19 December 2013 at 4:41PM

I have to agree that the fee to print tickets at home is ridiculous, they should give you a reduction as you use your ink, your paper and save them the cost of printing and postage.

pawlala · 19 December 2013 at 8:57PM

matty_art wrote: »

Not really the point is it?

from a moneysaving POV, yes it is.

house_elf · 22 December 2013 at 7:02AM

We walked the dog down to the Ticket Factory booking office at the NIA thinking we would save money on fees for Miranda tickets.

We did manage to save the cost of one of the fees, but still had to pay the Transaction fee. The lady in the booking office explained it covered the cost of ink and paper etc! Surely I have paid for this in the price of the ticket! I don't have to pay extra for the cost of ink and paper in a bank note or a stamp!!! Anyway, they need to get a better deal on their printing costs as they must be outrageously expensive!

I jokingly reported a 'Mugging' to the security man on the way out, and he said everyone was really surprised that buying in person was nearly as expensive as online.

At least the dog had a nice walk along the canal

MSE News: Concert booking fees getting beyond a joke, Which? says

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