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

Lindagreenacre

Has anyone reading this booked tickets for War of The Worlds from the official website. I expected to receive the tickets within a few days or even a couple of weeks. Nothing! I have contacted them by email more than once because of no reply. Eventually I got two emails from two different members of their team. One told me that they would be with me four weeks before the event, the other one said that they would come two weeks before or even have to collect from the venue. I know that the performance is not until June but I am wondering how safe these people are with my money, not an inconsiderable sum.

davelewis

Went to see 'The Woman in Black' in London last weekend - as well as a theatre booking fee for each ticket (booked direct with the theatre), there is also a further £1 fee per ticket for .............................. theatre restoration!!!

TenerC_2

another thing with theatres now is even though they can be owned by the same group, you can`t buy tickets in one venue for another anymore. we go a few times a year, and usually Manchester, last year got tickets to go and see Mary Poppins, while there also asked to book tickets for a show in Liverpool, but was told we now had to go to Liverpool to buy the tickets or buy them on-line (both ways work out the same with travel or charges) also same for the same town, palace & opera house can`t buy one for the other, so we where told.

chuckley

its not a rip off if u agree to purchase anyway.

i dont use SEE as their 'transaction fee' is a RIP OFF. the only ticket ive HAD to buy is glastonbury 09. with that i dont think its a rip off, but for every other ticket it is!!!

Nenen

chuckley wrote: »

its not a rip off if u agree to purchase anyway.

i dont use SEE as their 'transaction fee' is a RIP OFF. the only ticket ive HAD to buy is glastonbury 09. with that i dont think its a rip off, but for every other ticket it is!!!

I think it is a rip off because you are often not told about these 'hidden fees' until right at the end of the booking process. I've just booked tickets for 'Hit Me' (and sure enough they did!) :eek: at the Leicester Square Theatre (going direct to the theatre's own site to try and avoid Ticketmaster charges). On the first couple of pages of the website it tells you the tickets are £25, then about page 3 or 4 of the process (after you've chosen dates, seat numbers etc) you get told that it will cost you £1.75 for the 'privilege' :rolleyes: (my word) of using your own printer and ink to print your own ticket (or you can pay £1 to go to the theatre and pick them up yourself!!!!). On the final screen you get told there is also a £1.60 'service charge' to be added. Of course, at this point you could bail out but I think they are being very sneaky.

Can you imagine, having spent some time doing your weekly shop, choosing items, checking dates and prices etc getting to the checkout at the supermarket and being told that the price of each item being advertised on the shelf didn't actually include the service charge which is then added, oh and by the way, you'll need to organise, print and pay for your own receipt before we will let you have the goods!!!!!! OOOoops and just a minute, you know owe us another £x because we've 'let' you come and collect your own shopping!!!!
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

fawd1

davelewis wrote: »

Went to see 'The Woman in Black' in London last weekend - as well as a theatre booking fee for each ticket (booked direct with the theatre), there is also a further £1 fee per ticket for .............................. theatre restoration!!!

to be fair though, that theatre is in a complete state, and the tickets to see The Woman in Black are amongst the cheapest in the West End by a mile.

chuckley

Nenen wrote: »

I think it is a rip off because you are often not told about these 'hidden fees' until right at the end of the booking process. I've just booked tickets for 'Hit Me' (and sure enough they did!) :eek: at the Leicester Square Theatre (going direct to the theatre's own site to try and avoid Ticketmaster charges). On the first couple of pages of the website it tells you the tickets are £25, then about page 3 or 4 of the process (after you've chosen dates, seat numbers etc) you get told that it will cost you £1.75 for the 'privilege' :rolleyes: (my word) of using your own printer and ink to print your own ticket (or you can pay £1 to go to the theatre and pick them up yourself!!!!). On the final screen you get told there is also a £1.60 'service charge' to be added. Of course, at this point you could bail out but I think they are being very sneaky.

Can you imagine, having spent some time doing your weekly shop, choosing items, checking dates and prices etc getting to the checkout at the supermarket and being told that the price of each item being advertised on the shelf didn't actually include the service charge which is then added, oh and by the way, you'll need to organise, print and pay for your own receipt before we will let you have the goods!!!!!! OOOoops and just a minute, you know owe us another £x because we've 'let' you come and collect your own shopping!!!!
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

before you put ur card details in, u are A, given the t&c's to tick and B, a table or outline of the charges. at this point u say yes or no...

you said YES. so why are you complaining its a rip off?! u said u wanted the tickets at whatever cost they wanted to charge.

every ticket reseller has its own charges and terms, its up to the buyer to seek out the cheapest payment option.

to this day i STILL don't understand why so many people buy from TM when there are others that are way cheaper, even the event place itself! must be a 'trust' issue...

Nenen

chuckley wrote: »

before you put ur card details in, u are A, given the t&c's to tick and B, a table or outline of the charges. at this point u say yes or no...

you said YES. so why are you complaining its a rip off?! u said u wanted the tickets at whatever cost they wanted to charge.

every ticket reseller has its own charges and terms, its up to the buyer to seek out the cheapest payment option.

to this day i STILL don't understand why so many people buy from TM when there are others that are way cheaper, even the event place itself! must be a 'trust' issue...

Despite quoting my entire post I can only assume that you didn't actually read it. I specifically wrote that I had booked the tickets by "going direct to the theatre's own site to try and avoid Ticketmaster charges". I did NOT buy from Ticketmaster (or any other reseller, unless the theatre hid this in yet another duplicity). However, even if I had, (using your logic and my supermarket anology) this would mean that as Tesco is a reseller of many brands, the price they display on the shelves should reflect the price they buy each product in for and then at the checkout their own 'resellers markup' would be added per item. Next, potential purchasers would be told about the additional charge for printing their own receipt and eventually the additional charge for collecting their own goods would be revealed! At this point, purchasers would finally find out the true cost of their shopping and decide if they want to proceed or not! As I said in my original post "of course, at this point you could bail out " (i.e. say 'no')... not forgetting you have just been led up the garden path and wasted your time and energy.

I will conceed that, if I am being pedantic, perhaps 'ripoff' is not the most appropriate description of what I believe to be going on. It should be, 'deliberately misleading the prospective purchaser for an unnecessary length of time, (through a series of screens or decisions on the telephone) until the true cost finally has to be revealed', would be more accurate!

I really don't see why any theatre or reseller cannot advertise the total price per ticket or list clearly (in bold and not hidden in small print T&C) all the additional charges on the very first screen or display they have advertising their tickets. After all, Ryanair have just been pulled up for advertising the cost of their tickets without taxes etc and made to include these up front!

Blacksheep1979

FairyElephant wrote: »

....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!!!!!).

and the tickets magically get themselves into the envelope and walk off down to the post office don't they...

chuckley

Nenen wrote: »

Despite quoting my entire post I can only assume that you didn't actually read it. I specifically wrote that I had booked the tickets by "going direct to the theatre's own site to try and avoid Ticketmaster charges". I did NOT buy from Ticketmaster (or any other reseller, unless the theatre hid this in yet another duplicity).

never said u booked with TM. I used TM as an example of an expensive ticket reseller that people always flock to first rather than fishing out cheaper options.

However, even if I had, (using your logic and my supermarket anology) this would mean that as Tesco is a reseller of many brands, the price they display on the shelves should reflect the price they buy each product in for and then at the checkout their own 'resellers markup' would be added per item. Next, potential purchasers would be told about the additional charge for printing their own receipt and eventually the additional charge for collecting their own goods would be revealed! At this point, purchasers would finally find out the true cost of their shopping and decide if they want to proceed or not!

Your supermarket analogy is stupid. when u go to the supermarket the price u see is the price you pay. you are not BOOKING or reserving the items so theres no need to add an extra cost to the price at the till. the most you'd get is a charge for a carrier bag, a la m&s. the cost of them reselling the brand to you is already incorporated into the price. like i said, what u dont know cant hurt you. If you were told it was xyz (inc all the fees) u wouldnt be complaing but as you are told before hand its 'a rip off'. ticket sales however are different. take a festival ticket, you can buy online with the added posgae/booking/transaction fee or alternatively you can buy the ticket at face value in cash for the actual price. i was not 'booking' or reserving the ticket, as i was buying it at a venue reseller.

As I said in my original post "of course, at this point you could bail out " (i.e. say 'no')... not forgetting you have just been led up the garden path and wasted your time and energy.

no you havent, its called research

I will conceed that, if I am being pedantic, perhaps 'ripoff' is not the most appropriate description of what I believe to be going on. It should be, 'deliberately misleading the prospective purchaser for an unnecessary length of time, (through a series of screens or decisions on the telephone) until the true cost finally has to be revealed', would be more accurate!

I really don't see why any theatre or reseller cannot advertise the total price per ticket or list clearly (in bold and not hidden in small print T&C) all the additional charges on the very first screen or display they have advertising their tickets. After all, Ryanair have just been pulled up for advertising the cost of their tickets without taxes etc and made to include these up front!

suprise suprise your a Ryanair hater aswell... i shoulda known.