I’ve never been real comfortable with “Ticketmaster”. Whenever I use the site they have service fee upon service fee heaped upon the purchase. They’re kind of like the “Bank of America” of ticket sellers.
For example, last month I purchased tickets for a local play (Footloose) for myself, Michelle and 3 friends. The original ticket price was $15. Then Ticketmaster ladles on a $4.75 “Convenience Fee” per ticket (anybody know what the heck that really means?). Then there is the “Order Processing Charge” $3.65 (seems reasonable enough) and a “Ticketfast” charge of $1.75 (cost for them to allow me to print my own tickets).
This increases the final cost of the tickets by nearly 40% of the originally stated price.
So, recognizing and finally accepting that there really is no way to pay the advertised price for Ticketmaster tickets, and that they’ve got most venues around here locked up (does anybody know how to get tickets without going through Ticketmaster? I mean besides making an extra trip down to the venue to purchase them.). I picked up tickets for a show next month that were supposed to be $39.50 each. The “Convenience Fee” for these is $6.75 per ticket. Now they have a $2.00 “Total Building Facility Charge(s)” per ticket (?). I get a break on the Order Processing Charge as it is “only” $3.60 for the order, but they easily recoup that by increasing the “Ticketfast” charge to $2.50.
So my $39.50 tickets are now $51.30 each or 30% more than the advertised price.
“Fine”, I tell myself. Michelle will really enjoy the show and I really don’t have a lot of options.
This morning I get an email from Mondial Assistance thanking me for purchasing “Event Ticket Protector Insurance”.
At first I figured this was just a scam but then I saw that they had information that only Ticketmaster could have provided (date of the show, number of tickets). Further, when I checked on Ticketmaster’s site they *do* acknowledge the insurance scheme
but pretty much tell you that you need to deal with it on your own.
I know that I did *not* intentionally elect to take any insurance – 15% ($6 insurance vs. supposed original cost of ticket) is WAY too expensive for such protection and the risk that I’m going to miss a 2 hour performance is not really all that great (vs., say, the risk of missing a vacation package that spans a week or so).
But what is galling is the fact that I saw no mention at all of this insurance on Ticketmaster’s site when making the purchase. If there *was* it was not obvious and the little note at the top of the page saying “You have 2:15 to complete this form or you’ve gotta start over” would definitely impact your ability to carefully inspect your options.
As it is I haven’t seen the charge applied against my credit card yet, but this *is* the weekend. I’ve got a note on my calendar to check on Tuesday and cancel it. It’s a small amount of money but , gee whiz, don’t you just hate being taken for a ride?
*** Update February 17, 2009 ***
To their credit, Mondial’s VP of Marketing Communications contacted me after reading this blog and offered to initiate a refund of the premium for me. I had this on my “to do” list for the afternoon but I felt this was a nice gesture.
In his message he noted that:
The scenario you described was quite alarming to us and I want you to know that I have looked into it. I can assure you that we do not automatically charge people for the insurance. This type of “opt out” marketing practice is not used on Ticketmaster’s website. Each ticket purchaser is given the option to purchase or not purchase insurance.
I cannot say for sure how the option was presented to me, but I know I would not have opted in. And Ticketmaster’s reputation, being what it is, would leave me comfortable in the assumption that they were implementing an “opt out” strategy. After all, they are already selling tickets for more than the face price in the first place.
I see that the initial charge for the insurance premium has been applied against my charge card. I have already received confirmation that the insurance has been canceled. I’ll post to confirm that the reversal of charge has been applied as well.
** Updated February 22, 2009 **
I want to note that the credit for Mondial Assistance’s insurance premium showed up on my credit card account a couple of days ago. So they were true to their word on canceling and reimbursing me for the insurance.
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Posted under Opinions, Retail Experiences
This post was written by Marc
on February 15, 2009 at 10:02 am
Compaired to other websites that you have designed, or other websites that you have used, can you honestly say your experience was a convience? If no, take them to small claims court since you were charged for a convience that was not provided.
Heh, the law is not there for folks who work for a living my friend…
Have you heard the fuss going on up here with them?
http://www.thestar.com/article/586684
There are several stories in the paper about their practices lately.
@Alison – Thanks for that link Alison, that is VERY good news indeed. I’m the type who votes with my dollar and, years ago, my vote was to simply stop going to shows. But lately I’ve been feeling the itch to attend some shows and it absolutely galls me the excessive profiteering being indulged in by these cretins.
I just heard on Clark Howard this morning (podcast) that Ticketmaster is thinking of merging with another, equally shady, group (Live Nation)and shedding the hated Ticketmaster name so they can rip us off using an obscure new name. No doubt the name change will help in delaying or confusing similar class action lawsuits to the one you point to.
@Marc – It was reported here last week that the merge is official. Here’s the info and the new name to watch out for http://www.thestar.com/article/585518
Wow! You have to wonder where the FTC and the Canuck equivalent of the FTC are in all this.
Given how fuzzy their mandate is I fall back on “protect the consumer from monopolistic excess”.
Either they have lost sight of their purpose or they are simply corrupt.
*** Update February 17, 2009 ***
To their credit, Mondial’s VP of Marketing Communications contacted me after reading this blog and offered to initiate a refund of the premium for me. I had this on my “to do” list for the afternoon but I felt this was a nice gesture.
In his message he noted that:
I cannot say for sure how the option was presented to me, but I know I would not have opted in. And Ticketmaster’s reputation, being what it is, would leave me comfortable in the assumption that they were implementing an “opt out” strategy. After all, they are already selling tickets for more than the face price in the first place.
I see that the initial charge for the insurance premium has been applied against my charge card. I have already received confirmation that the insurance has been canceled. I’ll post to confirm that the reversal of charge has been applied as well.
@Marc – So they contacted you just based on the blog? They monitor these things?
I think savvy marketers don’t discount the value of public forums. Heck the Kryptonite lock folks are pretty much the poster children for “Look what happens when you pretend the Internet doesn’t exist.”
It doesn’t have to be too onerous, setting up Google and Technorati to notify you if your keywords are mentioned in a blog is a fairly simple and prudent way to keep your finger on the pulse of your brand’s popularity.
** Updated February 22, 2009 **
I want to note that the credit for Mondial Assistance’s insurance premium showed up on my credit card account a couple of days ago. So they were true to their word on canceling and reimbursing me for the insurance.
We had the same charge for insurance as you – and we didn’t know we “selected” it either. I feel like we have been SCAMMED! Our $18 circus tickets cost us $30 with all the extra fees of Ticketmaster and the insurance. When we got the email thanking us for the insurance purchase, we figured it was part of the Ticketmaster fee, but when I noticed a $42 charge on my credit card (which was not listed when I confirmed purchase) I was appalled. I immediately called the company but was told it was more than 10 days and the event had already take place. In no way did we intend to opt-in for insurance. I’m waiting for a call back from Felicia – apparently she may be able to do something, but the first two women I spoke with could do nothing other than explain its part of the “Terms and Conditions” we agreed to when selecting the box. “Terms and Conditions” of who? Ticketmaster? Mondial? I couldn’t tell you since we had no clue we opted-in.
@Lisa – Hey Lisa, I hear you. I do a *lot* of purchases over the internet and take my time when ordering. Ticketmaster’s high pressure site (with that warning at the top of each screen that it will expire shortly) combined with no doubt a very confusing “Terms and Conditions” likely yields a lot of unsuspecting “opting in”…
I’m much more suspicious of Ticketmaster than I am of Mondial in being the cause of the mistaken insurance purchases.
@Marc – The same thing just happened to me, I received my credit card bill today and found a $48.00 charge for insurance on the ticketmaster tickets I had purchased. I too was told on the phone that it was past the 10 day period and they couldn’t refund my money. I have sent an email to customer service requesting they refund the charges. I will see where this goes. I am going to contact my Visa holder tomorrow in order to dispute the charge.
I received an email today from Mondial, they have canceled my “policy” and have refunded my $48.00 It sounds like they are a decent company, unlike our friends at ticketmaster.
@Scott – Hey Scott, I’m glad that your experience turned out OK.
It seems that Mondial simply has to “deal with the devil” and they risk being painted with the same broad, and negative, brush that colors all Ticketmaster transactions.
Hi All
They are at it on my side of the Atlantic too. After buying some tickets from Ticketmaster I got a suprise email from Mondial thanking me for taking out a policy. £5.62 on £60 worth of tickets – not even good value. I phoned and have cancelled it (hopefully). From the unsurprised tone of voice of the woman I spoke to at Mondial I am not the first person she has dealt with on this subject.
I abhore this sort of behaviour! Large corporate bodies taking the Michael. Yes I am the recent recipient of an email from Mondial “thanking” me for opting for insurance that I have unknowningly opted for. The email came just today, so under the terms I have the full 14 days to cancel (well 12 days anyway – today being a Saturday and their offices not being open at weekends). It the principle that gets me. Yes I can cancel, but now I have to waste time and the cost of a phone call to do so.
I purchased tickets for a football game through Ticketmaster and decided to purchase Mondial Assistance insurance. It was the first time I was ever offered the insurance and I thought for the price of the insurance compared to the ticket price I would purchase the insurance. It just so happens that we got sick and were not able to attend the football game. I remembered that I had purchased the insurance so I filed a claim and mailed everything that is required including the doctor’s statement from ER. NO response so I called and the next thing I know I receive a letter telling me that the claim would not be processed because it was not complete. So I call Mondial again and I am told that 2 tickets were not submitted with my claim so I fax the entire package one more time. I was lucky I had copies because it just so happen that Ticketmaster could not provide copies it appears I missed the date by a few days? I called and confirmed that my fax was received.(April 15, 2009) After another week I received another letter telling me the package was again incomplete so I call again and fax Mondial once more.
After 2 weeks (May 11, 2009) I called to get a status and I was told that they needed to get clarification from the doctor. Mondial wanted the doctor to state, 5 months later, that my wife was too ill to attend the football game. I explained to Mondial that we did not mention the football game to the doctor therefore he could not make a recommendation not to attend the game. I also told Mondial that the ER visit was for treatment not to get coverage for the event insurance policy.
My father’s health turn a bad turn after this and he died on August 7th. On August 11, 2009 I called Mondial to inquire about the status of my claim and I was told that “The Claim was closed for NO ACTIVITY”? No activity on whose part? I was told to leave my phone number and I would be called tomorrow by the ticket claims department.
This is too long to play this game with them. If I am not called tomorrow I will contact my attorney to deal with Mondial’s obvious attempt to avoid paying for a valid claim.
Either Mondial is a rip off or they have employees who don’t do their jobs. Either way Think Twice before you spend money for event tickets and for insurance on the tickets. IT APPEARS THAT ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE SAME.
Marc, I am sorry to inform you that this scam continues! I received some promotional tickets through Honda and my options were to pick up the tickets at the box office or go through Ticketmaster, unfortunately I chose the convenience of Ticketmaster. I was fine with the typical $3.00 convenience charge per ticket but the following day, I received an email from Mondial regarding my Insurance purchase for $28 and was fuming! To their credit, the people answering the phones are extremely helpful and polite so I did not vent on the poor woman answering the phone who issued an immediate refund. But thanks to the Ticketmaster/Mondial relationship, I will never purchase from them again. Like you, I did not see anything mentioned on the website while making my purchase so if there is a disclaimer; it is small and out of the way. This is pure fraud! I am sure they get tones of revenue from people that do not check their email frequent enough. Thanks to the Ticketmaster/Mondial relationship, I will never purchase from them again
Just purchased Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets and the next day the mail from mondial arrived, closely followed by a note saying my purchase had failed at this time. Beware also that if you call at the wrong time of day or on the wrong network you can easily rack up a bill greater than what they are originally asking for.
As a lot of the comments above I have just purchased tickets from Ticketmaster only to get an e-mail to say thank you for purchasing Mondial Assistance Missed Event Insurance which I most certainly did not. I immediately sent an e-mail to Mondial to cancel. Hopefully I can telephone tomorrow to cancel. I only purchased a £20 ticket so why would I want insurance. Its not worth it.
Has anybody actually read what they cover? I am planning to actually use this insurance to file a claim on two tickets that cost about $80 each.
BUT after reading what they cover, I’m a bit unhappy on how strict they are about it. They only cover basically the extremes of unforeseen accidents, and of course you need to supply accurate documentation for them to actually reimburse you for the tickets.
@Tony – Hey Tony, This is why I limit my insurance to only big ticket things: House, car, medical, etc.
And I would say that I barely grasp what I’m insured for. I’ll talk to my various agents every few years, present scenarios that I may have concerns about and have them tell me if I’m covered or not.
For me the stress of trying to force someone to honor their commitments is a very high non-financial cost that must be factored into these things. If you don’t mind fighting for every little thing then this kind of insurance is probably OK. But I’d rather risk the loss of $160 and not bother with the insurance – especially since it seems unlikely that you’d be covered anyway.
Too much other living to do…