Booking Fees

J

Jorumian

Facilitator
Sep 1, 2008
347
3
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Birkenhead
Has anyone else had experiences of these ridiculous charges?

Recently I decided to go and purchase some tickets. I wanted some for the cinema and I was also looking at the prices of a concert in Manchester. (Ok, if you want to know, it was Jean-Michel Jarre... Yes I am sad...)

The cinema tickets were £7.60 each. For that price I can buy two dvd's. However what irks me is that they then charge you an extra £1 per ticket for a "booking fee". How? What do they do? It is an entirely online, automated system! I book online, I pay online, I go to the cinema and collect the tickets from an automated dispenser! Why do I need to pay £1 extra because of this?

Worse was to come, I checked the tickets for Jean Michel Jarre and they were £43.50. Expensive, but it was a one off. They had tickets available, I went to book and was informed that there would be a booking charge of £6.50 per ticket. That means I am paying £26 extra in mythical fees!

So being the tightfisted grump that I am, I refuse to pay it. I am waiting until I can get the DVD's for £2.99 or £3.99 in HMV or Amazon.

Are booking fees a total rip off? A tax on already overpriced tickets? Or do they have a justification?
 
W

Witch consumer

Moderator
Sep 8, 2008
1,593
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Debtors retreat
Yip, what makes me really mad is there's no way out of them, I go to the Palace in Manchester and even if I go to the ticket office next door I have to pay a booking charge!! and they wonder why no-one is going to the theatre anymore.
 
D

dave the trade

New Member
Apr 1, 2009
16
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Booking fees are money for old rope, i mean they have to process your payment in order to sell it to you, bit like service charge at restaurants, your not going into the kitchen to serve yourself are you?

:mad:
 
Tony

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
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Bolton
Concert tickets are the worst there seems to be absolutely no competition they are all via Ticketmaster and they have all kinds of surcharges and booking fees.
 
J

Jorumian

Facilitator
Sep 1, 2008
347
3
0
Birkenhead
The thing is with a service charge at a restaurant, I don't actually mind leaving a tip, if I am provided with friendly, efficient service. God knows, it is hard work being a waiter/ress and they are hardly paid a fortune.

I do object to being FORCED to pay a service charge though as happened at a restaurant we went to when 12.5% was added to an already large bill. I would not have minded so much, but the service we had was not the best anyway...

As for Booking fees, as has been said. It is a mythical charge. A tax on already overpriced tickets. I fail to see how paying via credit card at a shop costs you nothing in surcharges, yet online for a ticket can cost you £6.50 or more. It is verging on fraud.

Is there any kind of regulation on this as to me, it seems a licence to print money. As Tony says, Ticketmaster seem to have this sewn up. Where is the office of fair trading or competition committee when you see something like this?
 
G

GlasgowGirl

Facilitator
Jul 22, 2008
287
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I've never been very sure what the point is of these charges, or how they can be legal. I don't recall being charged whacking great fees when I used to buy concert tickets in Ripping Records in Edinburgh or Tower in Glasgow. It seems as if these have become standard since the advent of internet and telephone booking - but that makes no sense, but these systems involve no human beings whatsoever, so there are no additional costs to meet. Given the fuss that has been made in order to ensure that banks only charge fees that reflect their costs, should ticket sellers not be subject to similar requirements?
 
W

Witch consumer

Moderator
Sep 8, 2008
1,593
3
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Debtors retreat
I think its possibly because they all use agents, ticketmaster or similar who hike their costs on the price of the ticket and possibly get paid by the venues as well?

It's the £3 'postage' costs that get me most, even if they are e-mailed???????
 
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