Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

Mandatory Booking Fees: The ASA Responds



Husty

Mooderator
Oct 18, 2008
11,998
Dear Mr xxx




THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE LTD / BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION FC





Thank you for contacting the Advertising Standards Authority. I’m sorry to learn that this matter has caused you concern.





We think you’ve made a valid point and, with a view to acting quickly, we contacted the advertisers and requested changes. I’m pleased to advise that the advertisers have agreed to amend the pricing .pdf on the website to include the booking fee information, without the need for a formal investigation.





We will therefore be closing our file on this basis. Basic information will appear on our website, www.asa.org.uk, on 17th July.





I do hope that this outcome is satisfactory to you, and finally I’d like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to raise your concerns with us.


Best regards,

Emily Henwood


Complaints Executive

:thumbsup:
 










Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
30,464
Hove
I missed it, what was the complaint about?

The fact that someone* booking a home match ticket cannot purchase one at the advertised price. The booking fee's of £1 and £1.50 mean at the very least, you have to add £1 to the price, and this isn't clearly disclosed on the BHA advertisements.



*In the event of a home cup game, a platinum member will automatically be credited a ticket without booking fee, but this is the only exception.
 




Gazwag

5 millionth post poster
Mar 4, 2004
30,735
Bexhill-on-Sea
It says additional booking fees apply and you then go to another place of the ticket site to see what they are :shrug:

Clearly some people have never purchased tickets for an event before, I purchased 4 tickets for the theatre royal in Brighton this week and was charged £14.55 for the priviledge, this is the con people should be targetting.
 




Diego Napier

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2010
4,416
It says additional booking fees apply and you then go to another place of the ticket site to see what they are :shrug:

Clearly some people have never purchased tickets for an event before, I purchased 4 tickets for the theatre royal in Brighton this week and was charged £14.55 for the priviledge, this is the con people should be targetting.

Good point. By now, unless you've been on Mars, you'd know there's an "admin. fee". It's the principle of being allowed to charge extra that needs to be addressed.
 




Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,708
The Fatherland
Booking fees are a total joke. So what if a vendor uses a third party supplier. I'm sure third party suppliers are used in many other areas of the Albion's business but we don't get their costs split out from the main price. Why just tickets?
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,708
The Fatherland
Good point. By now, unless you've been on Mars, you'd know there's an "admin. fee". It's the principle of being allowed to charge extra that needs to be addressed.

Next time my ticket screws up I might bill the Albion for my admin. Or ask for a refund on the booking fee.
 


Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
30,464
Hove
I sort of understand it for theatre venues. They have different acts or events week to week with difference promotors / producers etc. that set their own actual ticket prices, especially for touring events. Therefore when the venue sells tickets, it's profit is often in the fee. It's got out of control, but I understand why it's there.

For a football club though, that is the venue, promoter and act, it must know all it's costs and overheads, and therefore the ticket price should be the ticket price. You can of course have a fee for a type of booking, but there has to be one way in which you can purchase the ticket at it's face value. For turning up at the stadium, going into the mega-store (surely you want to attract people to do this?), and buying tickets from someone who'd be manning the phones anyway, then paying £1.50 to buy your ticket is just totally ridiculous in my opinion.
 




Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Nov 15, 2008
31,921
Brighton
I sort of understand it for theatre venues. They have different acts or events week to week with difference promotors / producers etc. that set their own actual ticket prices, especially for touring events. Therefore when the venue sells tickets, it's profit is often in the fee. It's got out of control, but I understand why it's there.

For a football club though, that is the venue, promoter and act, it must know all it's costs and overheads, and therefore the ticket price should be the ticket price. You can of course have a fee for a type of booking, but there has to be one way in which you can purchase the ticket at it's face value. For turning up at the stadium, going into the mega-store (surely you want to attract people to do this?), and buying tickets from someone who'd be manning the phones anyway, then paying £1.50 to buy your ticket is just totally ridiculous in my opinion.

While that makes sense, as it brings people into the store and might lead to an increase in impulse buying of merchandise, the club have previously made efforts to actually draw people to use the online ticketing system rather than in person.
 


Brovion

In my defence, I was left unsupervised.
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2003
19,871
Booking fees are a total joke. So what if a vendor uses a third party supplier. I'm sure third party suppliers are used in many other areas of the Albion's business but we don't get their costs split out from the main price. Why just tickets?
I agree. It's not so much the charging of booking fees that irritates me as the docile manner in which the gutless, supine British just accept it, and even defend it! I've lost count the number of times I've read on here that 'everybody does it' or "they've got to pay for the costs" as if that justified it. If shops started adding a 5% shopping fee to cover the cost of running the tills I bet half the mug punters on here would say "ok, sounds fair, someone's got to pay for it". With attitudes like that theatres, booking organisations and football clubs know they can add whatever charges they like - and so they do.

The London Palladium are exempt from this rant as they didn't charge me a booking fee for buying in person. Nor did they charge me extra for using a credit card. If they can do it why can't everyone else?
 


Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,166
I agree. It's not so much the charging of booking fees that irritates me as the docile manner in which the gutless, supine British just accept it, and even defend it! I've lost count the number of times I've read on here that 'everybody does it' or "they've got to pay for the costs" as if that justified it. If shops started adding a 5% shopping fee to cover the cost of running the tills I bet half the mug punters on here would say "ok, sounds fair, someone's got to pay for it". With attitudes like that theatres, booking organisations and football clubs know they can add whatever charges they like - and so they do.

The London Palladium are exempt from this rant as they didn't charge me a booking fee for buying in person. Nor did they charge me extra for using a credit card. If they can do it why can't everyone else?

Totally agree it's a disgrace. However, I'm sure there must be some tax reason as to why it is charged seperately and if it is outlawed then I'm sure they'll just roll the fee into the purchase price and probably round it up to the nearest pound for the convenience!
 




Brovion

In my defence, I was left unsupervised.
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2003
19,871
Totally agree it's a disgrace. However, I'm sure there must be some tax reason as to why it is charged seperately and if it is outlawed then I'm sure they'll just roll the fee into the purchase price and probably round it up to the nearest pound for the convenience!
No there isn't. The booking fee is still revenue and the cost of the tickets is still part of the Cost of Sales. This season they won't show the travel voucher cost separately and that's actually charged at different VAT rate to the actual match ticket.
 


Husty

Mooderator
Oct 18, 2008
11,998
Good point. By now, unless you've been on Mars, you'd know there's an "admin. fee". It's the principle of being allowed to charge extra that needs to be addressed.

That means sweet FA though when the club are breaking the law by not being upfront about the mandatory booking fees.
 




Superphil

Dismember
Jul 7, 2003
25,679
In a pile of football shirts
Funnily enough The Royal Opera House does not charge a booking fee.

Nor do Southern Rail. But most football clubs do, if you check Leeds, you'll see they use the exact same online systemas us, and their booking fees are the same as us, and their tickets are more expensive than ours.
 




smiler

Well-known member
Jan 12, 2006
676
Shoreham by Sea
It says additional booking fees apply and you then go to another place of the ticket site to see what they are :shrug:

Clearly some people have never purchased tickets for an event before, I purchased 4 tickets for the theatre royal in Brighton this week and was charged £14.55 for the priviledge, this is the con people should be targetting.

If you buy tickets at the theatre there is no booking fee
If you go to the Amex they charge £1.50
 


amexee

New member
Jun 19, 2011
979
haywards heath
What gets my goat with transaction charges is when you are tied into a contract and the other party produces some small print that lets them up their fees. In particular my rant is aimed at Elavon who without any warning have stuck a new charge onto every single transaction that goes through my credit card terminal. And i am stuck for 3 long bloody years paying it, and can only moan loudly to every other person with a card machine for the next 3 years to gain a small amount of satisfaction everytime someone goes elsewhere. P.s got to hear about 2 weeks after signing up for 3 years, that is pee taking. Rant over
 


Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports


Top
Link Here