Booking/transaction fee refunds

[foolee]

Sorry if it’s been posted elsewhere but I couldn’t find anything in the thread however after a receiving my refunds minus the booking/transaction fees for a cancelled and rescheduled gig that I can no longer attend in January I wondered if anyone had gone back to the ticket companies and queried this and if anyone had any luck in getting this money back as no service has been provided and they’ve taken quite a bit of money I believe I should be entitled to a full refund. I had so many last year that I didn’t query this but I feel it should be addressed now and chased if possible. Ticket company providers are Seetickets and Gigsandtours.
 

Anyone had the same issues but managed to get the transaction/booking fees refunded?

[found home in 2009]

I lost out on booking fees for a festival and never got anywhere trying to get the money back. If I remember correctly from my research at the time legally they aren't obliged to return booking fees.

[foolee]

21 minutes ago, found home in 2009 said:

I lost out on booking fees for a festival and never got anywhere trying to get the money back. If I remember correctly from my research at the time legally they aren't obliged to return booking fees.

Thank you for responding but that’s a shame to hear that. Don’t even know if it’s worth my time and effort trying if they don’t legally have to refund them. Annoying as if you do a lot of gigs it works out quite a bit of money.  

[Leyrulion]

Good luck, they will likely argue that the service was provided (using their platform to purchase tickets) regardless of whether or not the event went ahead, so a cost was incurred by them to provide infrastructure to pay for tickets. 

[gfa]

I guess if they don’t legally have to return them that will be in part why the fees are so big. My idles tickets for jan are £29.50 with £10 in fees - possibly the worst i’ve seen usually about £5 for that price ticket

[gigpusher]

Yes I had to get a refund on my Alanis Morrissette tickets and lost out on over £30 worth of fees. Given that they hadn't yet provided the tickets I was tempted to say that I should have received at least a partial return of those fees as they haven't printed or sent me tickets but decided life was too short to get into the argument and that this year had been shit enough. 

[Lycra]

It's event industry standard practice not to refund booking fees, though some will refund postage if physical tickets have not been dispatched. Cancellation refund rights are set out in the terms & conditions of each booking agent.

Booking agents normally do not receive any income from the face value of the ticket and cover their costs by charging a booking fee. They argue that they have provided a booking service irrespective as to whether the event goes ahead or not and, additionally, they incur extra cost if they have to oversee a ticket refund.

Personally in this high tech semi-automated era, when actions occur with a fews clicks of buttons, I am puzzled why booking fees are so high. 

 

[thewayiam]

I debated with the team behind my Dropkick Murphys/Interrupters tickets and they gave the fee back.

I just preached that covid wasn't a general circumstance and they said we understand. I know I've got a lot booked this year though and thought the chances are not every agent is going to be that willing.

[DareToDibble]

Have been discussing this with a few people from this forum. I bought 6 tickets to the Stereophonics gig in Cardiff, originally in December 2021. We can’t make the new date so have requested a refund which came through today. They refunded £450 but we paid £499. £8 booking fee per ticket seems ridiculous to me. There was also a £1 processing fee which is fair enough as it’s likely for the payment charges they would incur. 

Highly unlikely we’ll get anything else back but I may go down the Covid route and say it’s exceptional circumstances etc. Keeping £48 in fees is absolutely mad.

[stuie]

8 minutes ago, DareToDibble said:

Have been discussing this with a few people from this forum. I bought 6 tickets to the Stereophonics gig in Cardiff, originally in December 2021. We can’t make the new date so have requested a refund which came through today. They refunded £450 but we paid £499. £8 booking fee per ticket seems ridiculous to me. There was also a £1 processing fee which is fair enough as it’s likely for the payment charges they would incur. 

Highly unlikely we’ll get anything else back but I may go down the Covid route and say it’s exceptional circumstances etc. Keeping £48 in fees is absolutely mad.

It’s not nice but it’s all there in the booking info when you purchased the tickets. It’s worse when the event cancels and they still get your fees, lost quite a bit when Arcadia cancelled their own festival and that was before covid was even a thing! 

Edited January 13, 2022 by stuie

[DareToDibble]

6 hours ago, stuie said:

It’s not nice but it’s all there in the booking info when you purchased the tickets. It’s worse when the event cancels and they still get your fees, lost quite a bit when Arcadia cancelled their own festival and that was before covid was even a thing! 

I guess I've never really cared so much when I've attended the even, other than to have a grumble that their fees are shit etc. Think you've hit the nail on the head though. It feels worse and has angered me more because it's an event I'm no longer going to.

[stuie]

3 hours ago, DareToDibble said:

I guess I've never really cared so much when I've attended the even, other than to have a grumble that their fees are shit etc. Think you've hit the nail on the head though. It feels worse and has angered me more because it's an event I'm no longer going to.

The other option is selling them for face value + fees on twickets or ticketswap… I reckon stereophonic at Cardiff prob would have shifted on twickets!!

Edited January 13, 2022 by stuie

[pedrogooch]

23 hours ago, DareToDibble said:

Have been discussing this with a few people from this forum. I bought 6 tickets to the Stereophonics gig in Cardiff, originally in December 2021. We can’t make the new date so have requested a refund which came through today. They refunded £450 but we paid £499. £8 booking fee per ticket seems ridiculous to me. There was also a £1 processing fee which is fair enough as it’s likely for the payment charges they would incur. 

Highly unlikely we’ll get anything else back but I may go down the Covid route and say it’s exceptional circumstances etc. Keeping £48 in fees is absolutely mad.

Which ticket company was it with? I've had mine back from See Tickets before after just one email "complaining" (I was v. polite).

I even sympathise with the ticket company a bit as I'm sure they have costs involved processing and refunding the order, so sometimes think a % of the booking fee being kept is fair, but 100%....?

[DareToDibble]

3 hours ago, pedrogooch said:

Which ticket company was it with? I've had mine back from See Tickets before after just one email "complaining" (I was v. polite).

I even sympathise with the ticket company a bit as I'm sure they have costs involved processing and refunding the order, so sometimes think a % of the booking fee being kept is fair, but 100%....?

It was SeeTickets actually. To be honest I had already sold my tickets to someone as I couldn't go so it's not me thats out of pocket, it's all the people I bought them for. But I want to keep SeeTickets onside until I've actually been to Glastonbury 😄