Theatre ticket 'booking fee' ripoff.....

FairyElephant_2

I've always been annoyed at having to pay 'booking fees' for theatre tickets - but usually put this down to a fee I have to endure for the convenience of booking online or by telephone......

Wanting to book 4 tickets as a birthday treat at our local theatre, I looked online to find that the fee was £3.25 PER TICKET - rather steep methinks....so sent Mr Fairyelephant off to the box office during his lunchbreak as he now works in town.

Imagine our horror to find that they also charge £3.25 per ticket - at the box office in the theatre bulding, to people who turn up and want to book, paying in CASH! At Mr FE's complaint and query that he thought this was for booking online or by phone, to get tickets sent, he was told "Oh No - you still pay the £3.25 per ticket then, but you also have to pay £3.00 on top for postage!!!".

If you have no choice but to pay the £3.25, then why isn't it just added to the price of the darned ticket in the first darn place??????

....and if I wanted it by post, since when has it cost £3.00 for an envelope and first-class stamp to send it to me (I would have to pay EVEN MORE for recorded/registered delivery!!!!!).

This whole thing needs looking into by a higher authority - it is a ripoff, plain and simple!

We really wanted to take them to see the show, but the feeling that we're being ripped-off puts a sour taste in the mouth and we won't enjoy it so much (IKSWIM).

Is this happening everywhere? - or just in Bristol......

Optimist

I had to pay a charge for paying by credit card at the box office but always assumed paying by cash would be without such a fee.

I would write a letter to the local paper copying the theatre manager, name and shame !

andyrules

I've booked direct with theatres several times and have never paid the extra fee that is incurred when paying online. It doesn't sound right to me.

nellytheelephant

Which theatre is it? x

shoey79

Thats a complete shambles, i understand that they have overheads to fill, but I somehow cant justify £3.25 EACH???

And to have to pay that at the box office too, that is not on!

KILL_BILL

normally if you book online there is a fee incurred for them in respect of their overheads for the website and or the agents who process the booking

however if you go directly to the theatre then their shouldnt be a fee incurred as their overhead etc are wihitn the ticket price

usignuolo

Don't get me started on Ticketmaster but...there are some theatres who have signed up to only sell their tickets via Ticketmaster and I think if that happens you have to pay the fee regardless. The artists and promoters are not blameless as they often get a cut too.

Various organisations have tried to challenge Ticketmaster in the past and there was even a US hearing about their practices which found, inexplicably, in their favour at least until you realise how rich and powerful the company is. There seems to be some loophole in the anti-Trust law, in the US at least, where acting as a middle man (between theatre and promoter) exempts you from certain elements of the law. Similar to some of the rip-offs we hear about with car rental firms who are just agencies for a larger name organisation.

Rab19

The last tickets I bought from TicketMaster charged a fee for printing them off myself!!!!! How can they justify that? I could understand (a little) paying to have them sent to me, but paying for the priviledge of actually printing my own tickets off is outrageous!

If I can EVER buy tickets without using [EMAIL="Ticketb@st@rd"]Ticketb@st@rd[/EMAIL] - I do!!!


Rab x x

FairyElephant_2

It would appear that this theatre - OK I will 'name & shame' THE BRISTOL HIPPODROME in case you want to know! - must have one of these agreements with 'Ticket-rip-off' - sorry 'Ticketmaster' as they appear to be running the box office!
I like the idea of contacting the local press - and will try it - but our local paper is fairly useless and never seems to print complaint letters (I know lots of people who have wrtitten about various matters), and gets most details wrong in it's articles.......

eyelinerprincess

Ticketmaster also charges a booking fee for buying at their outlets, as I discovered the last time I went to Glasgow to buy a ticket for something (really can't remember what though).

Lindagreenacre

usignuolo wrote: »

Don't get me started on Ticketmaster but...there are some theatres who have signed up to only sell their tickets via Ticketmaster and I think if that happens you have to pay the fee regardless. The artists and promoters are not blameless as they often get a cut too.

Various organisations have tried to challenge Ticketmaster in the past and there was even a US hearing about their practices which found, inexplicably, in their favour at least until you realise how rich and powerful the company is. There seems to be some loophole in the anti-Trust law, in the US at least, where acting as a middle man (between theatre and promoter) exempts you from certain elements of the law. Similar to some of the rip-offs we hear about with car rental firms who are just agencies for a larger name organisation.

I wanted to book tickets for the Cliff and Shadows concert in Manchester. Because the website collapsed I went onto the Ticketmaster site for fear of not getting any seats. On top of the price of the four tickets at £60 each Ticketmaster charged £7.25 service charge and then had the audacity to charge me extra for printing off the tickets myself. When you live about 70 miles from the venue you have little option. Probably there was no alternative to booking online anyway. Our local theatre uses Ticketmaster, but on principal if I phone several times and am put through to the Ticketmaster line I just go in person on principle.