Booking 'fees'...

[Nick]

Ryanair, cheap flights!

Yes, they hook you in with a deal of £35 to Brussels... then add on airport tax, fuel surcharge, baggage fees and before you know it £35 is actually closer to £120.

How's that a cheap flight?

And fuel surcharge? A fuel surcharge? What? They weren't going my way so they feel it's fair to charge me the extra to drop me off?

And baggage fees... How on this earth does it cost Ryanair something like £15 a kilo to carry my bag? £15 the lot, fair enough, but £15 a KILO? Is my luggage going first class with a gourmet meal, in-flight entertainment and personal masseuse?

And don't even get me started on the policy of charging £12 PER PERSON if you book with anything other than a Visa Electron card.

What is it with booking fees? Unless I'm missing something, this booking fee is actually me paying you money to pay you money.

I'm PAYING you to take my money... Odeon cinemas do it. A £2.50 charge to let me use my broadband connection and my time to book direct. I've actually saved you money as you're not having to pay someone to sit behind a counter and sell me a ticket, yet I'm paying you to reduce your costs and take my money.

Also, mandatory restaurant 'service' charges. They're including the 'tip' in the bill already? So they're assuming that I'm happy to pay for the restaurant to cook and bring me my food? Sorry if I'm labouring under the false assumption that that's what I was paying for in the price of the dish I've sodding ordered!

It's probably not well known but though it is legal for a restaurant to arbitrarily add a service charge, they must declare it on the menu or at point of payment. And it's also legal for you to ask for this charge to be removed from your bill.

So now I always take a feather with me when I eat. If the restaurant argues reducing my bill and allowing me to tip as I see fit, I refuse to pay, tickle the back of my throat with the feather and return their goods to them.

It's just a shame that Ryanair would just re-use that in one of their hideous sandwiches and the Odeon wouldn't notice the difference... have they never heard of a hoover?

[Lee H]

Ticketmaster and the rest of the concert & nightclub ticket lines are just the same.

Why do they charge a booking fee for EACH ticket when your only doing 1 transaction for 4-5 tickets?

[Splash]

Ticketmaster and the rest of the concert & nightclub ticket lines are just the same.

Why do they charge a booking fee for EACH ticket when your only doing 1 transaction for 4-5 tickets?

Becuase they can, and people will pay it.

[Funkstar]

Isn't the booking fee on tickets the profit margin for the vendor?

They don't actually make money on the face value. Could be wrong, but that was my understanding.

[BUFF]

Ticketmaster and the rest of the concert & nightclub ticket lines are just the same.

Why do they charge a booking fee for EACH ticket when your only doing 1 transaction for 4-5 tickets?

not only that but you can get charged delivery even when you are picking the tickets up at the door/booking office ...

[Zak33]

Ryan air crack me up. They own certain air routes,and no one else offers those trips, so they are the only people to offer the deal. Then they claim cheap, but charge for everything including baggage, so the people on the flight have "hand luggage" the size of my car... and it wont all fit in the overhead lockers...

but the best... the ultimate....

they CHARGED FOR MY LITTLE LAD, MORE THAN MY TICKET..... AND HE DIDN'T GET A SEAT, HE HAD TO SIT ON MY LAP!!!

I GOT A CHEAPER FLIGHT, AND HE DIDN'T GET A SEAT!!!

[Jiff Lemon]

Also, mandatory restaurant 'service' charges. They're including the 'tip' in the bill already? So they're assuming that I'm happy to pay for the restaurant to cook and bring me my food? Sorry if I'm labouring under the false assumption that that's what I was paying for in the price of the dish I've sodding ordered!

It's probably not well known but though it is legal for a restaurant to arbitrarily add a service charge, they must declare it on the menu or at point of payment. And it's also legal for you to ask for this charge to be removed from your bill.

So now I always take a feather with me when I eat. If the restaurant argues reducing my bill and allowing me to tip as I see fit, I refuse to pay, tickle the back of my throat with the feather and return their goods to them.

Actually, I believe the thing to do is to pay a single pound for the meal, as you believe that's what it was worth. Takes it from being a criminal matter to a civil matter.

[directhex]

And baggage fees... How on this earth does it cost Ryanair something like £15 a kilo to carry my bag? £15 the lot, fair enough, but £15 a KILO? Is my luggage going first class with a gourmet meal, in-flight entertainment and personal masseuse?

I think that one is because they pay a fee to the several companies at both ends which handle your bag - the people who operate the carousels, get baggage off the planes, etc. That's why it's a cost to them, anyway.

What is it with booking fees? Unless I'm missing something, this booking fee is actually me paying you money to pay you money.

It costs money to accept credit cards - I think it's 50p plus 0.5% or so for debit cards, 1% for credit cards, and more for amex

I'm PAYING you to take my money... Odeon cinemas do it. A £2.50 charge to let me use my broadband connection and my time to book direct. I've actually saved you money as you're not having to pay someone to sit behind a counter and sell me a ticket, yet I'm paying you to reduce your costs and take my money.

Convenience charge! Nah, it makes less sense where the cheaper option costs more - see also online game distribution.

Know a funny one? I paid for "premium economy" on a charter airline once..... the extras meant free booze throughout the flight, but it was still £2 for a pepperami if I wanted a snack