Rip Off World

Are you someone who has booked tickets to see a show at any of the venues controlled by Ticketmaster? Are you a parent who wants to take the kids for a good day out and find that on top of the face value of the ticket you have to pay extra for … nothing? According to the Ticketmaster website the extra is:

“Convenience Charges and Order Processing Fees …

Tickets purchased on Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca are typically subject to a per ticket convenience charge and a non-refundable per order processing fee. In many cases, delivery prices will also be owed. Purchaser may be able, in some instances, to purchase tickets directly from the venue box office without paying Ticketmaster's convenience fee.”

Well, well, well. Call me a tight ass but how can they justify a per–ticket “convenience” fee? In my opinion it is tenuously understandable to charge one transaction fee but to charge per ticket is just scandalous. If only we could vote with our feet or purchase tickets at the venue. As if! Many peeps queue for days to get tickets for the top artists and shows. Not many can do that. I’m all for making a fair profit but there has to be a limit to being held to ransom. The husband says its easy money for them. I say its daylight robbery.

What about booking a holiday that’s advertised at £300 for a week in the sun only to find that by the time you pay for the taxes and transfers it actually costs £400 or more? Or find out too late that if you cancel a single booking made with Thomas Cook they won’t give you a full refund? Perhaps the travel agent should have pointed out that clause even if it was an over the phone reservation. It’s in the small print if you actually get a chance to read it before coughing up the cash.

And then there is expensive insurance that won’t pay out if you get sick abroad. In the experience of many unfortunate peeps, insurance companies would rather bust a gut trying to find a loophole than just look at claims from the point of view of what they would expect if it happened to them or a family member? Apparently insurance companies are not able to bring themselves to do that. They would rather put us all through the wringer until we give up from mental fatigue.

Part of the problem is the number of false claims. Shame on you who do that! The other problem is that insurance companies are out to make money. Profit and paying out are poor bedfellows if you are at the pointy end. The system, if you can call it that, is mostly corrupt.

Let’s face it. Even home insurance is a mine field when it comes to making a claim. Add to that the payment protection insurance that you paid for without your knowledge or the extended warranty you didn’t need … Ha Ha Ha! I bought a video camera from a well-known national chain store. The guy who sold it to me offered me extended warranty which I turned down on the grounds that technology was so advanced I shouldn’t need it. He begged to differ and told me things aren’t as well made as they used to be. Oh! Oh! I’m sure JVC would love to hear that. NOT!

One would think I had been handed a clue about the selling mantra of said store but I bought a washing machine from the spicy shop anyway. The drum was faulty from the get go and flooded the floor on first use. The store manageress refused to replace it and sent two engineers out to “fix” this brand new piece of S..t … sorry, I meant kit. Even though the company’s own repair peeps said it was not economically fixable and should not have left the depot, the store still refused to replace it or take it away and refund my money. I had to threaten to get my credit card company involved before they caved in. That’s just wrong. It causes heartache and hassle when it should have been a simple situation to resolve. There is a consumer law to protect us yet many retailers flaunt it. And companies using a commission system for staff selling insurance products is coming back to bite them. Banks included. PPS is costing the banks big time but then again … they have had your money for a long while to play with.

I admire peeps who have committed themselves to learning to care for us in the private and public sector. Skills are often hard won and naturally those swats deserve compensation for their efforts. I have recently been getting chiropractic treatment and I was really impressed and hopeful that it would help me. It did for a few hours after the treatment but then my symptoms returned. The fee was a tad painful. After the initial consultation and first two half hour sessions the regime reduced to 10 minutes at a cost £30 a pop. That works out at £180 per hour. Nice work if you can get it.

I don’t know what more to say. You have all experienced situations where you didn’t get value for money. Many have been robbed blind as they say. The husband’s granny said she could put up with people sh*****g on her but not them coming back and rubbing it in. Wise words Lizzie.