CHOICE says booking surcharges are taking centre stage at events.
CHOICE says, with the real cost of tickets to entertainment and sporting events hidden due to ‘inside charges’¹, ticket agency booking fees need to reflect the real cost of administering the tickets – making them clear before someone starts the booking process.
In an investigation of event ticket pricing that included market share leaders Ticketek and Ticketmaster, CHOICE found that consumers buying tickets are being charged high credit card surcharges, transaction fees, postage as well as hidden charges.
“We’ve been shining the spotlight on banks and airlines that impose credit card surcharges that are much higher than the actual cost of processing the transaction and the RBA is taking action. It’s also time for event ticketing companies to justify the charges they’re imposing on consumers,” says CHOICE spokesperson Ingrid Just.
CHOICE says that the Ticketek and Ticketmaster have the exclusive ticketing rights to over 20 thousand events in Australia each year. ² This market concentration means that consumers aren’t getting the benefits of competitive pricing.
“As well as getting a cut of the ticket price, they’re also charging ticket holders credit card surcharges, postage fees and transaction fees – these costs are not front and centre when you start to make the booking,” says Ms Just.
“In some cases, Ticketek charges $7.60 for emailing the ticket as an attachment, which the customer prints themselves. Additionally, tickets sent by registered post can cost $11.25 for the service, compared to $3.65 for the same service at the post office.”
CHOICE’s 2009 investigation into ticket pricing found that exclusivity agreements between major ticketing companies and venues were constricting competition. ³
“The producers of a show may have a say in the venue but they have no say on who has the ticket selling rights – that’s a contract between the venue and the ticketing companies.
“It’s the ticketing company that decides the extra charges you’ll pay on top of the advertised ticket price.
“They already get a share of the ticket price as part of the inside charges, but you’re not told that when you buy the ticket,” says Ms Just.
CHOICE says the extra fees are largely unjustified and are excessive, particularly when the customers who book online are helping to reduce the ticketing company’s costs.
“When customers are helping keep costs low by using online ticketing, they should be rewarded, not penalised,” says Ms Just.
“Additionally, when people are paying good money for tickets to events this weekend, they deserve transparency with upfront information about the charges that make up the transaction.”
Choice notes
¹The ‘inside charge’ is the fee paid to the ticketing company by the promoter or person who puts on the event. Information given to CHOICE on the condition of anonymity indicates that Ticketek and Ticketmaster both levy an ‘inside charge’, in some cases operating on a sliding scale that can be up to about 10% of the total cost of the ticket.
² Ticketek and Ticketmaster figures – Ticketek processes 18 million dollars’ worth of tickets to over 13 thousand events each year, while Ticketmaster services 10 thousand events annually.
³ http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/money/shopping-and-legal/shopping/ticketing-hidden-costs.aspx