tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post7602356767207270152..comments2023-11-28T18:03:40.816+02:00Comments on Theatrically Speaking: Bullying Tourists: The West End Way of Booking TicketsSiiri Liitiähttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693988891671030845noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post-17427643119199721872013-07-01T16:19:23.023+03:002013-07-01T16:19:23.023+03:00True that! I understand having a small fee, the ti...True that! I understand having a small fee, the ticket booking agencies have to get their profit somehow – but for example the UK Ticketmaster fees are insane... :/<br /><br />You can use a debit card in all Finnish online stores. That's why I haven't really dreamed of a credit card... But yeah, debit doesn't work in foreign stores, so it's not all good! As for credit cards, at least as far as I'm aware, you have to be 20 years old (I am) and have a certain amout of study credits (for me, still ~30 credits to go) to qualify.Siiri Liitiähttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04693988891671030845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post-69765868884035488402013-07-01T03:15:45.397+03:002013-07-01T03:15:45.397+03:00Oh all fees are waived of course if you go to the ...Oh all fees are waived of course if you go to the box office to make your transaction in person. But it's not always possible to get to the box office! <br /><br />Sorry for my ignorance (I've never had a debit card), but you can't use debit cards for online purchases? Or just for ticket purchases? Seems strange. How old do you have to be to get a credit card?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364462042039313856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post-56040886374990613662013-06-30T20:38:13.470+03:002013-06-30T20:38:13.470+03:00Argh, rest of the world, not you too... Your exper...Argh, rest of the world, not you too... Your experiences sound way more annoying than mine, since I can after all get tickets the easy way in my own home country! I guess we have it way too good in Finland, I've been spoiled.<br /><br />I have a sneaking suspicion my parents wouldn't be wild about that – seeing how buying tickets to West End musicals would be the only use I'd have for a credit card... Debit cards are used a lot more here than in the USA, I suppose, and everyone can have one. So I'm able handle almost all my other purchases with that. But thanks for the tip! :)Siiri Liitiähttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04693988891671030845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post-10216308095685588302013-06-30T19:12:39.653+03:002013-06-30T19:12:39.653+03:00Unfortunately, this isn't a problem unique to ...Unfortunately, this isn't a problem unique to West End theaters. Whenever I want to buy tickets to anything online, I end up having to pay quite a lot in fees. There's even a fee for printing the ticket out on your own paper with your own ink! Ridiculous.<br /><br />But there's also the note that if you want to pick up your tickets at the door (for theater or concerts or sporting events), you have to present the credit card that you used. This bugs me, because I like to use virtual credit card numbers. They're tied to my card so my actual card gets charged, but if some hacker gets a hold of this number, they won't be able to use it to make purchases anywhere else. However, that number's not going to match the one on my card! It also makes it hard to, say, let a friend pick up your tickets and go to the event if you have an emergency and can't go. Or buy tickets for someone else. I've never actually been asked for my credit card.... I've only ever been asked for an ID. But I still have to use my real credit card number just in case. An ID or a printed receipt with confirmation number should be enough.<br /><br />Here's a suggestion for you. When I didn't have a credit card, but was old enough to need one to buy gas, my parents got me a card on their account. It was my own card that I could carry with me, but it was tied to their account and they were the ones responsible for paying it. That way if I needed to buy gas, or go to the store and buy something for them, or had an emergency where I needed it, I had one. I always had to give them receipts for everything I purchased so they could check them against their statement. But they just trusted me to be responsible with it and if I did buy something for myself on it, I had to pay them back you know. So maybe you could ask your parents about this. I'm sure you're responsible enough. :) It doesn't really solve the problem, but it helps you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364462042039313856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post-77257843749041008092013-06-28T23:49:17.642+03:002013-06-28T23:49:17.642+03:00Actually, the few times I've been able to prin...Actually, the few times I've been able to print my own ticket to a West End show, they haven't cared about the credit cards. (The tickets had barcodes that were scanned at the door, so I guess you'd get caught if you printed too many of them.) It seems to me the rule's only about the tickets you pick up in person. Are they fighting off a specialised group of hackers who steal people's ticket purchase receipts from their e-mails and go pick up their tickets, or..?Siiri Liitiähttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04693988891671030845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775001501996608627.post-18902841591355219232013-06-28T23:20:44.678+03:002013-06-28T23:20:44.678+03:00Ditto. Even Hungary, which isn't exactly the m...Ditto. Even Hungary, which isn't exactly the most technically advanced country in Europe, has excellent ticket systems both online and in theatres. I can understand the present-the-credit-card system in case of tickets printed at home, because it'd be easy to print multiple tickets and sneak people into the theatre that way. But when it's not possible to print them at home, it's getting a bit silly. The theatres would also avoid one hell of a rush by letting people collect their tickets at any time.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04075708067551174017noreply@blogger.com