Gig ticket prices 'should be more honest'

Consumer organisation Which? has called for the prices of gig tickets to be more straightforward, with booking and postage costs less hidden.

The organisation said that costs such as booking and postage may not become clear to those who buy them until they've almost finished buying the tickets.

Which? also criticised the overall cost of such fees, pointing out that sometimes they can add 30 per cent to the overall cost of a gig ticket, reports BBC News. It also warned that people may not always get these fees back from an agent if a gig is cancelled.

Neil Fowler, editor of Which?, said: "Airlines have taken a bashing recently for adding sneaky extra charges to the cost of tickets, but they're not the only ones.

"We found ticket agencies hiking the cost of tickets by nearly a third with various fees and postage costs. These charges only become apparent when people are well into the buying process – they should be made clear up front so that people can compare prices properly."

Which? suggested that such fees should be more clear, by being part of an overall advertised price. Nearly 90 per cent of people polled in a Which? survey held this view.

Nick Blackburn of Seetickets - who power NME.COM's ticket shop - responded to the criticism, saying, "I believe we have the right to retain that booking fee as we have done the work for which we have charged the customer.

"When we have to refund the customer following cancellation, the cost of that work is covered by the original booking fee and for large concerts or events, this work can be extensive."

What do you think? Do you get annoyed by extra fees being added to ticket prices? Do you think these fees are too much? Or do you think it's fair that an agency adds them on? Sign into MyNME and leave a comment below.