Rip-off ticket tax strikes again!

[Michelle]

Thought it only applied to season ticket purchases, but turns out even if you go to the ticket office in person, you're gonna get stung for £1.50 PER TICKET.

 

I'll assume this doesn't apply to cash payments, also as per the season ticket arrangement, but we paid by debit card and got charged an extra £9.

 

Charming.

[This Charming Man]

Thought it only applied to season ticket purchases, but turns out even if you go to the ticket office in person, you're gonna get stung for £1.50 PER TICKET.

 

I'll assume this doesn't apply to cash payments, also as per the season ticket arrangement, but we paid by debit card and got charged an extra £9.

 

Charming.

 

Yes?

[Appy]

This was advertised.

[Fan The Flames]

Isnt this the standard with cinemas, gigs, west end shows ect

[This Charming Man]

Isnt this the standard with cinemas, gigs, west end shows ect

 

Yes, also the same with most other football clubs. Though according to people on here, we're not allowed to charge it.

[Saint Garrett]

It is a joke but would have thought people would have just accepted it by now. It was stated on the website at the time. I would rather they just added it onto the ticket price though.

[niceandfriendly]

Harsh and overpriced but the same everywhere these days. Not just a Nasty Nick tactic.

[ladysaint]

Man City charge £2.50 per ticket so maybe we are lucky, hence why now I get all the cash together for our tickets and go to the ground and get them.

[The Kraken]

I bought 3 tickets by card for the Wolves friendly, I was "only" charged a £1.50 transaction fee. Still a rip off.

[kelkel31]

Yes, also the same with most other football clubs. Though according to people on here, we're not allowed to charge it.

 

no we are not and it will only be a matter of time before the law reflects it! the goverment is already on the case in respect to the airlines and they will suceed and it will filter down to all business types.

 

you advertise a price for a service or goods, if you cant include all cost assosiated to your business in that price thats your problem, its a fraud to advertise a price and then have extra charges in the small print that are compolsory!

 

just because everyone does it doesnt mean we all have to act like leamings and put up with it.

[Minty]

It is a wide scale commercial issue and it all stemmed from advertisers trying to gain some ground. Costs of a purchase were generally always included in the advertised price but marketing people came up with the idea of advertising things more cheaply, with small print to indicate additional costs, to make headline costs look cheaper than competitors. It then got expanded by the airlines to allow for more and more 'extras', whilst keeping the original 'ticket price' low. It grew from there and started to become common practice. Saints aren't doing anything out of the ordinary, but this needs to change across all sectors IMO.

[ant]

no we are not and it will only be a matter of time before the law reflects it! the goverment is already on the case in respect to the airlines and they will suceed and it will filter down to all business types.

 

you advertise a price for a service or goods, if you cant include all cost assosiated to your business in that price thats your problem, its a fraud to advertise a price and then have extra charges in the small print that are compolsory!

 

just because everyone does it doesnt mean we all have to act like leamings and put up with it.

 

That won't help anything, companies will just raise the 'face value'. I don't see how paying the same amount as a ticket + booking fee costs now will be so much better.

[dune]

no we are not and it will only be a matter of time before the law reflects it! the goverment is already on the case in respect to the airlines and they will suceed and it will filter down to all business types.

 

you advertise a price for a service or goods, if you cant include all cost assosiated to your business in that price thats your problem, its a fraud to advertise a price and then have extra charges in the small print that are compolsory!

 

just because everyone does it doesnt mean we all have to act like leamings and put up with it.

 

It is something that the government need to stamp out. It's disgraceful.

[This Charming Man]

no we are not and it will only be a matter of time before the law reflects it! the goverment is already on the case in respect to the airlines and they will suceed and it will filter down to all business types.

 

you advertise a price for a service or goods, if you cant include all cost assosiated to your business in that price thats your problem, its a fraud to advertise a price and then have extra charges in the small print that are compolsory!

 

just because everyone does it doesnt mean we all have to act like leamings and put up with it.

 

Don't be so naive. They'll just add it into the actual cost, so either way you'll still be paying it.

 

They clamped down on airlines charging daft fees to use credit cards etc, so the airlines stopped doing that and just upped their prices. The consumer is now probably paying more than they were before as you can't see how much 'extra' they've added on.

 

Also, they won't be stamping out booking fees and the like as that would then see hundreds of ticket agencies going out of business and a multi-million pound sector would be left with no means to sell it's tickets.

[Flyer]

QPR charge £3.50 per transaction for all card purchases but I think Saints is worse as you should only be charged once but they are all a rip off, the transaction only costs 50p and only American Express costs more.

 

Something should be done to limit the costs, especially when its probably cheaper for clubs if you book online rather than go in person with cash.

[JRM]

Man City charge £2.50 per ticket so maybe we are lucky, hence why now I get all the cash together for our tickets and go to the ground and get them.

 

i think Man City is £2.50 on the phone, but free online, that is fair enough, no way can they justify that per ticket for an online purchase, especially if buying lots of tickets with one card transaction.

[The9]

Don't be so naive. They'll just add it into the actual cost, so either way you'll still be paying it.

 

They clamped down on airlines charging daft fees to use credit cards etc, so the airlines stopped doing that and just upped their prices. The consumer is now probably paying more than they were before as you can't see how much 'extra' they've added on.

 

Also, they won't be stamping out booking fees and the like as that would then see hundreds of ticket agencies going out of business and a multi-million pound sector would be left with no means to sell it's tickets.

 

The point being that the price which is advertised is then the price you pay. That's not a bad thing and has been my main problem with Cortese Tax from the start. It also means that customers are able to make a judgement about whether they are prepared to pay that price.

 

Also if the law is changed, either they include the cost in the ticket in which case ticket agencies are unaffected and just get their cut from the total cost, or they don't, in which case they are breaking the law. So the ticket company profitability won't be affected in any way.

[dune]

Don't be so naive. They'll just add it into the actual cost, so either way you'll still be paying it.

 

They clamped down on airlines charging daft fees to use credit cards etc, so the airlines stopped doing that and just upped their prices. The consumer is now probably paying more than they were before as you can't see how much 'extra' they've added on.

 

Also, they won't be stamping out booking fees and the like as that would then see hundreds of ticket agencies going out of business and a multi-million pound sector would be left with no means to sell it's tickets.

 

If (and hopefully when) they outlaw sneaky add-ons it will not see prices increase IMO, on the contrary it will drive more competitiveness. For example I found i could fly with British Airways on my chosen route cheaper than with easyjet AND with BA they allowed 3kg extra hold baggage weight, they throw in a meal and refreshments & allow a pice of hand luggage and a handbag/laptop. Once these gutter businesses are made to operate transparently they will have to reduce their margins NOT increase prices.

[The9]

If (and hopefully when) they outlaw sneaky add-ons it will not see prices increase IMO, on the contrary it will drive more competitiveness. For example I found i could fly with British Airways on my chosen route cheaper than with easyjet AND with BA they allowed 3kg extra hold baggage weight, they throw in a meal and refreshments & allow a pice of hand luggage and a handbag/laptop. Once these gutter businesses are made to operate transparently they will have to reduce their margins NOT increase prices.

 

Worryingly... "I agree with dune".

[Essruu]

Thought it only applied to season ticket purchases, but turns out even if you go to the ticket office in person, you're gonna get stung for £1.50 PER TICKET.

 

I'll assume this doesn't apply to cash payments, also as per the season ticket arrangement, but we paid by debit card and got charged an extra £9.

 

Charming.

 

If you're that bothered by it being per ticket and not per transaction, you could always do more to feel like you've made them work for it and feel like you've got more value from it; Just purchase each ticket one by one: stay in the queue and make them do a separate transaction on your card for each ticket, using an excuse of needing a separate receipt for each ticket in case each person doesn't believe the extra charge is per ticket or something!

[This Charming Man]

The point being that the price which is advertised is then the price you pay. That's not a bad thing and has been my main problem with Cortese Tax from the start. It also means that customers are able to make a judgement about whether they are prepared to pay that price.

 

Also if the law is changed, either they include the cost in the ticket in which case ticket agencies are unaffected and just get their cut from the total cost, or they don't, in which case they are breaking the law. So the ticket company profitability won't be affected in any way.

 

The 'ticket tax' is advertised.

[This Charming Man]

If (and hopefully when) they outlaw sneaky add-ons it will not see prices increase IMO, on the contrary it will drive more competitiveness. For example I found i could fly with British Airways on my chosen route cheaper than with easyjet AND with BA they allowed 3kg extra hold baggage weight, they throw in a meal and refreshments & allow a pice of hand luggage and a handbag/laptop. Once these gutter businesses are made to operate transparently they will have to reduce their margins NOT increase prices.

 

BA's prices are low these days because they're competing with the explosion of budget airlines across Europe. If you think the cost of airline travel is going to come down any time soon, you're crazy.

 

The constant rise in fuel prices and taxes will ensure the cost of air travel is going to keep rising.

[The9]

If you're that bothered by it being per ticket and not per transaction, you could always do more to feel like you've made them work for it and feel like you've got more value from it; Just purchase each ticket one by one: stay in the queue and make them do a separate transaction on your card for each ticket, using an excuse of needing a separate receipt for each ticket in case each person doesn't believe the extra charge is per ticket or something!

 

Michelle has access to lots and lots of bagged up coins, we have seriously considered doing this.

[dune]

BA's prices are low these days because they're competing with the explosion of budget airlines across Europe. If you think the cost of airline travel is going to come down any time soon, you're crazy.

 

The constant rise in fuel prices and taxes will ensure the cost of air travel is going to keep rising.

 

Of course prices will need to keep rising, but the point i'm making is that by increasing transparency it will make it easier for consumers to shop around between airlines and this will force budget airlines to reduce their margins. Pretty much in the same way supermarkets are always competing for our custom.

[kelkel31]

'dont be nieve' - stupid comment

 

of course yes they will add it to price, i stated that in my comment i.e including all costs!

 

then we get the choice to take it or leave it, we get to compare straight up prices not spend half our life looking at the small print trying to work out who is charging us for what, anything else is trying to con people into think the cost of something is less than it actually is,

therefore a fraud

[The9]

The 'ticket tax' is advertised.

 

It's very poorly advertised, and varies dependent on a lot of different scenarios, so it is anything but clear.

 

In fact the per-match Ticket Tax was mentioned on the ST page (to encourage people to get an ST and not have to pay it), but isn't mentioned on the Wigan/Man U match by match information, which says to me that they're actively trying NOT to publicise it.

 

Also, the fact that it has changed from a "by transaction" to a "by ticket" charge has been pretty much buried in amongst swatches of other ticketing information as well.

[Windmill Arm 2]

Thought it only applied to season ticket purchases, but turns out even if you go to the ticket office in person, you're gonna get stung for £1.50 PER TICKET.

 

I'll assume this doesn't apply to cash payments, also as per the season ticket arrangement, but we paid by debit card and got charged an extra £9.

 

Charming.

 

You could march down to the ticket office and hand it back in disgust like those two Muppets did over car parking......or you could just stop moaning .

[dune]

'dont be nieve' - stupid comment

 

of course yes they will add it to price, i stated that in my comment i.e including all costs!

 

then we get the choice to take it or leave it, we get to compare straight up prices not spend half our life looking at the small print trying to work out who is charging us for what, anything else is trying to con people into think the cost of something is less than it actually is,

therefore a fraud

 

Well surely having to pay 1.50 on top of an advertised price is the price anyway. They could just the same advertise tickets for a quid and then add on a 30 quid booking fee.

[This Charming Man]

'dont be nieve' - stupid comment

 

of course yes they will add it to price, i stated that in my comment i.e including all costs!

 

then we get the choice to take it or leave it, we get to compare straight up prices not spend half our life looking at the small print trying to work out who is charging us for what, anything else is trying to con people into think the cost of something is less than it actually is,

therefore a fraud

 

Now that's a stupid comment.

 

Before choosing to complete the transaction, you are made perfectly aware of the total cost. It's not like you pay £49 for the Man City ticket and then sent an invoice for £1.50 for the 'ticket tax'.

[krissyboy31]

I'm sure the per ticket is a mistake. When we have bought them they have been per transaction. Did you challenge it at the time?

[The9]

I'm sure the per ticket is a mistake. When we have bought them they have been per transaction. Did you challenge it at the time?

 

Someone posted on here to say they changed it last season.

[The9]

Now that's a stupid comment.

 

Before choosing to complete the transaction, you are made perfectly aware of the total cost. It's not like you pay £49 for the Man City ticket and then sent an invoice for £1.50 for the 'ticket tax'.

 

Before choosing to complete, but not necessarily before choosing to buy before you leave the house, if you're not aware of the taxes (which as I've said previously are not well publicised and vary depending on a number of criteria). And it's hardly like there are any other ticket vendors out there offering competitive services to make them reconsider. Your options at the ticket window are more or less "pay it" or "don't go".

[Graffito]

Small print - "There is a £2 surcharge per ticket when bought on match day". Is a surcharge a booking fee? Not exactly transparent is it?. I expect there's a customer charter somewhere but just can't be arsed..

[The9]

Small print - "There is a £2 surcharge per ticket when bought on match day". Is a surcharge a booking fee? Not exactly transparent is it?. I expect there's a customer charter somewhere but just can't be arsed..

 

And that only applies to Match Days, and therefore home tickets, which this clearly isn't.

[kelkel31]

Now that's a stupid comment.

 

Before choosing to complete the transaction, you are made perfectly aware of the total cost. It's not like you pay £49 for the Man City ticket and then sent an invoice for £1.50 for the 'ticket tax'.

 

last reply, but to show you dont understand the arguement pls read this carefully and tell me what the 'headline' or 'advertised' price is for the wigan game

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2862691,00.html

 

now try to explain to a child who also has 3/4 other brothers for his father to pay for(no me thankfull) that it actually costs more than what they have said by quite some way

[Graffito]

And that only applies to Match Days, and therefore home tickets, which this clearly isn't.

 

I quoted "match day". Not sure what point you are making. Try being transparent.

[Saint_clark]

'dont be nieve' - stupid comment

 

of course yes they will add it to price, i stated that in my comment i.e including all costs!

 

then we get the choice to take it or leave it, we get to compare straight up prices not spend half our life looking at the small print trying to work out who is charging us for what, anything else is trying to con people into think the cost of something is less than it actually is,

therefore a fraud

 

You get that choice now, no-one is forcing you. Also every single time I have ordered tickets over the phone the person on the other end has made it absolutely clear that there is a booking fee, how much it is and how much the total price is including booking fees.

[This Charming Man]

Before choosing to complete, but not necessarily before choosing to buy before you leave the house, if you're not aware of the taxes (which as I've said previously are not well publicised and vary depending on a number of criteria). And it's hardly like there are any other ticket vendors out there offering competitive services to make them reconsider. Your options at the ticket window are more or less "pay it" or "don't go".

 

Exactly. So choose one of those options and stop moaning about it.

[The9]

I quoted "match day". Not sure what point you are making. Try being transparent.

 

The point I'm making is that the only thing you managed to find (I assume on the ST page) referenced a different amount, for different types of tickets, bought in different proximity to the event. So there's no reason to think that's applicable to the purchases from today. Michelle's OP implies that the £1.50 per ticket was unexpected to her, and given that there are 7 of us buying in that group and I'm pretty well informed on this kind of stuff (see the other City thread for clarifications re: loyalty points), I'd say that if none of us were expecting it, then it was pretty well hidden.

[The9]

Exactly. So choose one of those options and stop moaning about it.

 

Or choose the third option, moan about it to the right people to get it changed to something better.

[The9]

last reply, but to show you dont understand the arguement pls read this carefully and tell me what the 'headline' or 'advertised' price is for the wigan game

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2862691,00.html

 

now try to explain to a child who also has 3/4 other brothers for his father to pay for(no me thankfull) that it actually costs more than what they have said by quite some way

 

That's a fair point, nowhere in that article does it mention any additional ticket costs other than "(call charges apply)" after the phone number.

[This Charming Man]

Or choose the third option, moan about it to the right people to get it changed to something better.

 

If people are moaning about it but still paying it, why would they drop it? They'd just carry on regardless.

 

So as you originally said, your options are - keep going or stop going and hope enough people follow suit and they are then forced to stop it.

[Thedelldays]

Or choose the third option, moan about it to the right people to get it changed to something better.

 

What is better, realistically?

[Graffito]

The point I'm making is that the only thing you managed to find (I assume on the ST page) referenced a different amount, for different types of tickets, bought in different proximity to the event. So there's no reason to think that's applicable to the purchases from today. Michelle's OP implies that the £1.50 per ticket was unexpected to her, and given that there are 7 of us buying in that group and I'm pretty well informed on this kind of stuff (see the other City thread for clarifications re: loyalty points), I'd say that if none of us were expecting it, then it was pretty well hidden.

 

I'm sorry I can't help Michelle and her group of 7, including you. I was merely contributing to the discussion about lack of transparency, a point raised by you and others. You see a surcharge isn't a booking fee,otherwise it would be called a booking fee wouldn't it? I think the OS is probably means to convey that there is a booking fee per ticket of £1.50 except where you buy on match day when it increases to £2 but the OS doesn't actually say that. It refers variously to booking fee and surcharge i.e. lack of transparency. If you don't mind I'll take your word for it that you're pretty well informed.

[The9]

What is better, realistically?

 

The law making it illegal for ticketing organisations to charge more than the advertised price. If they want to charge me £50.50 for a Man City ticket, fine, just don't tell me it's £49.00.

 

Same with the Wigan/Man UT tickets, where Saints haven't even said there's a fee applicable.

[The9]

I'm sorry I can't help Michelle and her group of 7, including you. I was merely contributing to the discussion about lack of transparency, a point raised by you and others. You see a surcharge isn't a booking fee,otherwise it would be called a booking fee wouldn't it? I think the OS is probably means to convey that there is a booking fee per ticket of £1.50 except where you buy on match day when it increases to £2 but the OS doesn't actually say that. It refers variously to booking fee and surcharge i.e. lack of transparency. If you don't mind I'll take your word for it that you're pretty well informed.

 

I'm not sure what your problem is here, other than the semantics of surcharge/booking fee, which I haven't even commented on. Other than that I completely agree with you regarding lack of transparency.

[Graffito]

I'm not sure what your problem is here, other than the semantics of surcharge/booking fee, which I haven't even commented on. Other than that I completely agree with you regarding lack of transparency.

 

No problem just an observation. I'm pleased you now realise I was agreeing with you.

[The9]

If people are moaning about it but still paying it, why would they drop it? They'd just carry on regardless.

 

So as you originally said, your options are - keep going or stop going and hope enough people follow suit and they are then forced to stop it.

 

I'll be stopping going... once I've been to Man City and Arsenal.

 

I also haven't paid a car parking fee since it came in, and didn't pay a booking fee for the entire of the past 2 seasons by a combination of going to the TO and just not going to certain matches, but they've now eradicated every possible avenue of doing that except turning up on the day and paying in cash - which presumably is how they keep this side of "legal". I don't expect the club to change it, that doesn't remove my right to complain that it is misleading and unclear and should be fixed, but hopefully the government has that one in hand.

[The9]

No problem just an observation. I'm pleased you now realise I was agreeing with you.

 

I always did.

[This Charming Man]

I'll be stopping going... once I've been to Man City and Arsenal.

 

I also haven't paid a car parking fee since it came in, and didn't pay a booking fee for the entire of the past 2 seasons by a combination of going to the TO and just not going to certain matches, but they've now eradicated every possible avenue of doing that except turning up on the day and paying in cash - which presumably is how they keep this side of "legal". I don't expect the club to change it, that doesn't remove my right to complain that it is misleading and unclear and should be fixed, but hopefully the government has that one in hand.

 

Good for you. I hope your 1 man crusade is successful.