ticketmaster rip-off

September 21 - November 30, 2008. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
Waxy's Dargle
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2007 3:55 am

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by Waxy's Dargle »

I've always thought Ticketmaster a rip-off with their excessive credit card charges. Having read this thread I'm even more incensed by their antics. They seem to represent the epitome of the Gordon Gecko "Greed is good" mentality, preying on the weak (us the fans whose desire to see the artist over-rides our feelings of being ripped off). I've even come accross events where trying to book directly with the event promotor was the same price & handling fees with the excuse given that Ticketmaster determine the fees. Rubbish, I know.

However, how did they achieve this near monopoly on ticket sales? A lot of it is down to the avarice of the music industry/artists and the rest to the uncaring/apathetic public? Is there anything that can be done?

Good work, Suemeryln checking them out with the Office of Fair Trading but I can't believe that they are squeeky clean, do you? There must be some way of getting them to clean up their act?
Lorelei
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:04 am
Location: The glorious west of England

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by Lorelei »

I can't remember much of the details, but I know the Independent newspaper in the UK has had a campaign going about excessive charges by ticket agencies.

I really annoys me how they rack up the charges, especially when you get charged a handling fee or whatever they call it per ticket, not per transaction. I have at times bought up to 6 tickets to see particular artists and get charged on each ticket :x
Waxy's Dargle
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2007 3:55 am

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by Waxy's Dargle »

Yea, there was something similar in Ireland about looking into excessive credit card charges but nothing came of it, as usual!

I don't understand why the event organisers don't just sell the tickets through their own outlet(s) as they operate these outlets anyway? What is it that brings them to the Ticketmaster trough? As I said my experience with one such outlet was that they were charging the same fees as Ticketmaster, so it it just a way of them squeezing more out of the guillible punters? I'm trying to get a handle on this?

Luckily theatres still operate a box-office that charges no fees when you get your tickets direct from them.
lonndubh
Posts: 1219
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:07 am
Location: Ireland

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by lonndubh »

i think its good that we are waking up to this now . They might have bought us as ediots but they wont sell us as ediots :D :D
danslenoir
Posts: 240
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:48 pm

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by danslenoir »

Ticketmaster magically had front row seats for tomorrow night's concert at the O2 available when i had a look a few minutes ago. Wonder why there weren't sold when tickets first went on sale - do they sell the crappest tickets first and keep good ones until the end? :?
dynamiksdreamdebased
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:09 pm

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by dynamiksdreamdebased »

danslenoir wrote:Ticketmaster magically had front row seats for tomorrow night's concert at the O2 available when i had a look a few minutes ago. Wonder why there weren't sold when tickets first went on sale - do they sell the crappest tickets first and keep good ones until the end? :?
Disgusting.
blithe, urbane and inebriated.
osmachar
Posts: 417
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 7:42 pm
Location: Glasgow

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by osmachar »

I found something similar for Glasgow as well. A couple of days before the concerts from stalls seats miraculously became available.
danslenoir
Posts: 240
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:48 pm

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by danslenoir »

I've written to complain...wonder what bullsh*t excuse they'll come up with :roll:

Edit:

Thank you for your email.

As a ticket agency Ticketmaster sells the tickets on behalf of the venue and promoter. We do not own the tickets that we sell and are not based at the venue.

Ticketmaster does not decide how many tickets will be sold or where they maybe located. When a customer books the best available, it is the best available at the time of booking. Unfortunately Ticketmaster cannot guarantee that extra tickets will no be released by the venue or promoter at a later date.
osmachar
Posts: 417
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 7:42 pm
Location: Glasgow

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by osmachar »

So who should the complaint be directed to then? The promoter/concert organiser?
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Mabeanie1
Posts: 2782
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:03 am
Location: UK

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by Mabeanie1 »

danslenoir wrote:Ticketmaster magically had front row seats for tomorrow night's concert at the O2 available when i had a look a few minutes ago. Wonder why there weren't sold when tickets first went on sale - do they sell the crappest tickets first and keep good ones until the end? :?
As far as I can establish, the promoters (not TIckettout) hold back a block of tickets for them to hand out to the great and the good and I assume this is where the "last minute" tickets at Glasgow and the O2 etc came from. I have often thought that the promoters are probably also the source of any front tickets which miraculously find there way on to places like eBay, Getmein and Seatwave etc. How else can you explain why the touts get the front seats whilst we ordinary punters get something near the back? They MUST have their contacts ......

We had an extraordinary experience a couple of months ago which seemed to confirm this view. We had booked two tickets centre front for the Van Morrison show at the Liverpool Phil in October. A short while before the show, we had a call from the box office explaining that Van Morrison ('s management/ promoters) wanted our seats and the ones around them and they would happily give us free top-price seats somewhere else if only we would let Van's people have our two seats. Of course, we refused. However, when we arrived at the venue and claimed our seats, there were empty ones either side of us. I wonder how the other people who accepted the move felt when they saw the unclaimed seats?

Wendy
Sidewinder
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:15 pm

Re: ticketmaster rip-off

Post by Sidewinder »

For the record, as someone who used to work in this environment, places such as the NEC hold all the available tickets for shows and concerts that are available as soon as the event goes on sale. Beforehand, certain outside agencies such as Ticketmaster receive an allocation of tickets from the NEC to sell on their behalf. The areas the tickets are allocated from are determined by the promoter of the show. In some cases where allocations sell quickly the promoter will release other areas for allocation and sale. In a lot of cases the promoter will hold back tickets right up until the event itself if they want to. So it's not a case of having a moan about where you're buying tickets from, nor the venue box office itself because it is the promoters show and he'll do whatever he likes, whenever he likes and the box offices have to do as they are directed. The venue is only on hire to the promoter, along with the box office facilities. It's like hiring a builder.... he has to do what you ask him to do.

And yes, definitely, there are always best seating tickets on hold, for every event, which are not for general sale. These seats are held for major cock-ups, and gives the box office a little leway to correct their errors, because like it or not box office staff do and will cancel tickets if you are awkward, but tell you your booking is complete. This is when you wait for tickets that never arrive, and then ring the box office only to be told that there's no record of your booking. They either tell you 'tough' and you have to go without, or book again for crappy seats if they have any, or in rare circumstances they will miraculously find you some cracking seats to correct the problem... which are these held back seats.

So remember, be nice to your box office representative, they're only doing what the fat cat promoter tells them to do and can only sell what the fat cat promoter tells them to sell.
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