Buyers a little ticked off

Online ticketing companies are being criticised for charging high booking fees - even when customers book themselves.

Websites such as Ticketek and Ticketmaster can charge several dollars when customers print tickets from their home computer.

Ticketek is selling tickets for Kiwi band Katchafire in Wellington for $30, with fees of $8 for venue pickup, $12 for courier and $13.50 for rural delivery.

The same company is selling $10 junior tickets to watch the Warriors at Mt Smart with fees of $5 to print the ticket at home, $8 for venue pickup and regular mail, $12 for courier or $13.50 for rural delivery.

Ticketmaster usually adds no extra costs for venue pickup or regular postage but tacks on a variable "order processing charge". The surcharge on a $103 ticket to see US punk band Green Day in Auckland is $7.65, even if you print your tickets at home.

TicketDirect, an alliance of more than 45 independent New Zealand venues, is offering tickets for the Topp Twins in Napier for $53 to $57.50, with a fee of $1 a ticket plus $5 for venue pickup, $8 for courier and $11 for rural deliveries.

New Zealand-owned iTicket appeared to be cheapest, offering tickets to print at home for a maximum $2. Their Express system has no or low booking fees, and includes postage cost.

Dylan Read, 26, said service fees added to an automated system were a "scam".

He bought tickets to a design conference last year and was charged a $5 service fee and another $5 for a courier between Auckland CBD and Newmarket.

"To me it is just a big scam as you are somewhat blind to what the actual processes are. It's just another way of clipping the ticket, so to speak, to screw as much out of the consumer as possible."

James Lee, 29, said he tried to avoid buying tickets online because of the extra costs: "But even then some places will still charge you when you pick up the tickets. It's insane."

Consumer NZ research manager Belinda Allan said they had received complaints about booking fees but "unfortunately" didn't think people could avoid them.

One customer bought seven tickets for a concert and was charged a $20 service fee for each - $140 in total.

Allan said the service charge should be proportional to the amount of service the customer receives.

An iTicket spokeswoman said charging high fees for online tickets you can print at home was "a bit off".

A Ticketmaster spokeswoman said the transaction fee allowed the company to provide a "flexible ticketing service".

Higher fees to book by phone or internet covered the low or zero fees charged at outlets.

TicketDirect did not respond. A Ticketek spokesman said general manager Brendon Bainbridge was unavailable.