Supermarkets don’t add a processing fee at the till
The problem consumers have with ticket fees is that the total cost is rarely declared up front, says Chris Cooke.
Which? magazine has thrown the spotlight onto the whole “why the fuck am I paying six pounds to print out my own tickets” thing, claiming that consumers sometimes see the cost of their tickets to theatre and music shows increase by over a third when they get the final stage of the booking process and ticketing agencies add those customary booking, delivery, credit card and ‘right to consume air while at the gig’ fees.
The consumer rights magazine added that in 78 bookings it made for fifteen shows from 20 ticketing firms, only two did not incur extra fees in addition to the advertised ticket price. Of course it’s no secret that consumers dislike the ‘final screen fees’ that are routine in the live sector, though widespread annoyance at the practice will rarely result in fans not buying tickets to see the artists they love, so there isn’t really any commercial incentive to sort it out, even though some artists who are selling more of their tickets direct-to-fan have been trying to simplify or remove the unpopular commissions.
Which? magazine has thrown the spotlight onto the whole “why the fuck am I paying six pounds to print out my own tickets” thing, claiming that consumers sometimes see the cost of their tickets to theatre and music shows increase by over a third when they get the final stage of the booking process and ticketing agencies add those customary booking, delivery, credit card and ‘right to consume air while at the gig’ fees.
The consumer rights magazine added that in 78 bookings it made for fifteen shows from 20 ticketing firms, only two did not incur extra fees in addition to the advertised ticket price. Of course it’s no secret that consumers dislike the ‘final screen fees’ that are routine in the live sector, though widespread annoyance at the practice will rarely result in fans not buying tickets to see the artists they love, so there isn’t really any commercial incentive to sort it out, even though some artists who are selling more of their tickets direct-to-fan have been trying to simplify or remove the unpopular commissions.