Are ticketing companies playing fair on ticket fees?

I love living in London because there are so many different shows, gigs and events to go to. However, I almost always find the process of buying tickets unnecessarily frustrating.

As any fellow music fan or culture-vulture will know, online ticketing companies can add hefty ‘booking’ or ‘delivery’ fees on top of the price of a ticket. Well, our research has found examples of compulsory fees adding up to a third to the face value of the ticket.

For example, a £25 ticket for Jimmy Carr’s Wolverhampton gig could set you back an extra £9.50 in compulsory fees – a massive 38% of the ticket’s face value.

To add insult to injury, some companies don’t show all of these fees upfront. Often it’s not until you’ve seen the ‘face value’ price of the show, selected your tickets and entered the ‘security code’ on the payment page that you’re told you’ll have to pay extra to receive your tickets. Sometimes you’ll even have to pay to collect them from the box office or print them at home yourself.

Sign our ticket fees petition

Over the next few months, we’ll be putting pressure on companies to end hidden fees. And we need your help, so if you want ticket companies to play fair, sign our petition.

We want to see all extra compulsory charges shown upfront when you first see the price of the ticket. Firms should be doing this anyway to comply with Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) rules on how prices should be displayed. We also think hidden fees are unlawful under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

With eight in 10 event-goers agreeing that the level of fees are often a rip off, our campaign calls on ticketing companies to justify their fees and set them at a fair level. I personally think ticketing companies have a job to persuade fans that their fees are fair and that they’re not just taking advantage of an uncompetitive market.

What ticks you off most about ticket fees? What are highest examples of ticket fees you’ve come across?