In a win for the 37,000 of you who have supported our Ticket Fees campaign, seven major ticketing companies have agreed to show all compulsory fees upfront. What’s the largest ticket fee you’ve had to pay?
I regularly get frustrated when buying tickets online. Often it seems like it’s not until you’ve selected your tickets and begin entering your details that you’re presented with a nasty little surprise of a £3 fee to print off your tickets at home, or up to a £6.50 compulsory charge for delivery.
And I’m not alone. Kevin, who signed our Play Fair on Ticket Fees petition, was absolutely right when he said:
‘How often does the final price exceed the advertised price? […] All fees should be included in clearly visible prices FROM THE START.’
Show’s over for hidden ticket fees
When we launched our campaign in December, we named and shamed seven companies as having hidden fees – including some of the biggies, like Ticketmaster, See Tickets and ATG.
Well, thanks to your support for our campaign, all seven companies have agreed to show all compulsory fees upfront. The Advertising Standards Authority has also been working behind the scenes to ensure companies stick to their advertising rules.
See Tickets has already put their fees upfront, TicketSoup has said it will make changes this week, and ATG are most of the way there and have promised to make further changes by March. We’ll continue to engage with the remaining four – Ticketmaster, TicketWeb, BHLive and Stargreen – to ensure they set out a timetable to bring these changes in swiftly.
Set fees at a fair level
But that’s not it for our campaign, oh no! Eight in ten of you have told us you think the level of extra fees are a rip-off.
Tim, who signed our petition, worked out that he had paid an incredible £480 in extra fees for the 70 concerts he went to last year.
So we’re now challenging ticket companies to go even further – we want them to justify their fees and set them at a fair level. We don’t think the high fees many companies charge are fair – for example, we think delivery fees should only be used to recoup costs associated with delivery. We also don’t think you’re given a clear explanation of what these fees are for, nor where the money goes.
Join us in challenging the ticketing industry to set their fees at a fair level, and get your friends and family to do the same. I’d also be really interested in hearing the ticket fees you’ve had to pay for gigs and concerts. Do you think it’s fair to pay to print off your own tickets or to pick them up from the box office?
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