Admin fees on ROH exchanges or returns

[Bluebird]

Good news: If you need to return  ROH tickets, the Box Office is, currently, issuing gift certificates and they are not deducting an admin fee.  They are also exchanging tickets without an admin fee.

 

Edited to add that this does not depend on the returned ticket(s) being resold.  i.e. they are issuing gift certificates even if they have a lot of unsold seats.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Bluebird

[Guest oncnp]

31 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

Good news: If you need to return  ROH tickets, the Box Office is, currently, issuing gift certificates and they are not deducting an admin fee.  They are also exchanging tickets without an admin fee.

 

Edited to add that this does not depend on the returned ticket(s) being resold.  i.e. they are issuing gift certificates even if they have a lot of unsold seats.

 

I've never been charged an admin fee for taking a gift certificate but happy to hear that returns for resale will no longer incur a fee. 

[alison]

That's "currently", rather than "no longer", I suspect.

[Dawnstar]

That's good to hear about the gift certificates, as I'll be returning a couple of Dante Project tickets to them shortly (ones I had to buy as part of package booking) & I very much doubt the performances are anywhere near sold out.

[Rob S]

36 months validity too

[Lizbie1]

Worth noting that you need to give 24 hours' notice though.

[Sophie_B]

On 13/10/2021 at 19:16, Lizbie1 said:

Worth noting that you need to give 24 hours' notice though.

Yes, thank you, just came here to say that! Although they were generous about it this week - I tried to return my ticket "for resale" and by the time I had been enlightened about the new rules, it was less than 24 hours before the performance. They still gave me the gift certificate (and, as it turns out, also resold the seat on the day of the performance so everyone wins).

[Beryl H]

I thought I read that the old system was back, i.e. they try to resell the ticket on the day and refund me if they succeed, but yesterday morning when I E-mailed they advised that the 24 hour period had passed and it wasn't possible. I suppose the rules keep changing at the ROH as everywhere else.

[Tebasile]

1 hour ago, Sophie_B said:

Yes, thank you, just came here to say that! Although they were generous about it this week - I tried to return my ticket "for resale" and by the time I had been enlightened about the new rules, it was less than 24 hours before the performance. They still gave me the gift certificate (and, as it turns out, also resold the seat on the day of the performance so everyone wins).

The same happened to me, but I received an email from the box office saying there was ‘nothing they could do’. A waste of both my money and someone else’s opportunity to buy last-minute seats!

[JNC]

It’s probably too much hassle but surely they could have a mix of both systems?

 

As in gift certificate if over 24 hours before, and then resell minus admin fee if resold on day?

 

If there was only one system my preference would be for the old refund if resold system to be honest - then roh don’t lose any money and people can snap up last minute tickets. 

 

I think it’s a real shame if they can’t sell last minute tickets to sold out performances for those who would like to go and missed out at earlier booking. 

[Sophie_B]

2 hours ago, Tebasile said:

The same happened to me, but I received an email from the box office saying there was ‘nothing they could do’. A waste of both my money and someone else’s opportunity to buy last-minute seats!

Oh, that's such a shame!

[jules_skichick]

Worked for me on Thursday night I emailed then got voucher and sorted Friday morning for sat mat Dante ticket subsequent bought by Silke who needed a ticket so smiles all round. Thanks ROH box office

[Bluebird]

Update below received today from the ROH Box Office:

 

(Edited to ask if a moderator could please modify the title of this thread as it is now misleading.)

 

"We are now applying an exchange fee of £4.00 per ticket for any tickets booked after 9am on the 19th October. Anything booked before that date will not incur the fee."

Edited October 21, 2021 by Bluebird

[alison]

I hope that will at least mean that they'll accept last-minute cancellations.

[Guest oncnp]

8 minutes ago, alison said:

I hope that will at least mean that they'll accept last-minute cancellations.

 

Doesn't look like it

 

2. Terms and conditions of exchange

2.1.  Tickets may only be exchanged via the Royal Opera House and into an account credit up to 24 hours before your original scheduled performance start time. We are unable to exchange tickets to another ROH production.

 

2.2.  The Royal Opera House charges an administration fee of £4 per ticket. A Royal Opera House account credit will be issued to the value of the tickets exchanged (minus administration fees).

[alison]

[jmhopton]

On 21/10/2021 at 12:33, oncnp said:

 

Doesn't look like it

 

2. Terms and conditions of exchange

2.1.  Tickets may only be exchanged via the Royal Opera House and into an account credit up to 24 hours before your original scheduled performance start time. We are unable to exchange tickets to another ROH production.

 

2.2.  The Royal Opera House charges an administration fee of £4 per ticket. A Royal Opera House account credit will be issued to the value of the tickets exchanged (minus administration fees).

 

I've just been in contact with the ROH box office re returning tickets and was told tickets purchased before last week (new booking period?) can still be given a gift certificate if people wanted to return them (as I did), and I received a gift certificate for tickets booked for Giselle and Nutcracker. It's only tickets purchased from last week that the £4 returns fee applies to. 

 

I also asked about when the seat view facility would be returning and was told it probably won't be before the New Year or next booking period after the New Year.

[alison]

It's time they did something about that £4 fee, even if it's only making it £2 for standing tickets, or for tickets under, say £10/12/15 or whatever.  Otherwise the cheap places will continue not to be returned.

[Blossom]

I booked the wrong date for a performance this week and was expecting to have to wait for the ticket to be resold to get a refund. Was pleasantly surprised that they simply refunded me the value of the ticket because I'd contacted them so soon after booking/so far in advance of the performance.

 

[alison]

They can be quite good like that  

[JNC]

On 29/10/2021 at 00:07, alison said:

It's time they did something about that £4 fee, even if it's only making it £2 for standing tickets, or for tickets under, say £10/12/15 or whatever.  Otherwise the cheap places will continue not to be returned.

 

Yes real shame for people to miss out on these tickets. Or in general, now there is no chance of getting any money back within 24 hours of the performance (exactly when a last minute illness or travel delay could occur, you wouldn't know till the day) meaning not only cheap tickets but all other tickets could go to waste and people with genuine last minute reasons why they can't attend not even having a chance of recouping this money (it was never a guarantee but a chance seemed fair). 

 

Hopefully ROH will reconsider. £4 fee for credit exchange note seems more than fair 24 hours in advance, so couldn't they combine policies and if it's within 24 hours of return they apply the old policy (you only get your money back minus £4 if it sells, otherwise no money back). 

 

If it does sell win-win-win for ROH (£4 up on top of the ticket purchase), the original buyer (better some credit back than none at all and moral high ground of ticket not being wasted), and the new buyer (last minute ballet!).

 

Even if it doesn't sell ROH don't lose any money if they don't refund the original buyer (as per the old system) and the original buyer is no worse off (minus missing ballet but clearly they couldn't attend anyway). I guess you could argue ROH have lost the time spent putting the ticket up for resale - but they are presumably doing this anyway for tickets returned in advance of the 24 hours with no guarantee those will sell either so it's hardly going to make that much difference in this instance, they won't realistically get 100s of tickets being returned in that 24 hour window, particularly as most people wouldn't take the risk of losing all the money if the ticket is not sold if they can guarantee the money back (minus £4) if they returned it 24 hours in advance. 

[bridiem]

I read this as not being able to exchange tickets in the last 24 hours, not that you can't return them. ?