Advice re unwanted ROH tickets - Ruination

[harpistic]

Hello, 

 

I've worked out that it's nearly six years since I was last at ROH, and I'd stopped going regularly several years before that. Add to that not having used Facebook for several years too, and I now have lots of front row seats for Ruination on Thursday which nobody seems to want. 

 

I was hoping for some actual advice on what my options are with these tickets; I hadn't realised that in these intervening years, ROH no longer deals with actual enquiries from members of the general public. 

 

Getting credit for the tickets is completely pointless for me as I won't be able to use it (the only show I've wanted to see was Light of Passage, so I bought a ticket for a friend instead), so if I'm stuck with this option, could someone "buy" the credit from me (at a reduced price - hey, winter sales! - i.e. use my account to use up the credit?

 

Otherwise, are they actually still doing returning for resales? It sounds like this is only an option within 24 hours of the performance, but I wasn't sure if I could actually get the refund, especially if it took box office several days to reply to my enquiry about what to do with these tickets. 

 

And of course, if anyone would like one or more front row seats for Ruination this Thursday... <wink>

 

(Disclaimer: I adore Ben Duke's work, and it would be wonderful to see some of my ex-Rambert friends, especially Miguel, plus yeay at front row seats, but I might end up having to catch a later train down, although that would still leave lots of tickets even if I do manage to see it.)

 

Chantal

Edited December 19, 2022 by harpistic
Added my name!

[Guest oncnp]

6 minutes ago, harpistic said:

Hello, 

 

I've worked out that it's nearly six years since I was last at ROH, and I'd stopped going regularly several years before that. Add to that not having used Facebook for several years too, and I now have lots of front row seats for Ruination on Thursday which nobody seems to want. 

 

I was hoping for some actual advice on what my options are with these tickets; I hadn't realised that in these intervening years, ROH no longer deals with actual enquiries from members of the general public. 

 

Getting credit for the tickets is completely pointless for me as I won't be able to use it (the only show I've wanted to see was Light of Passage, so I bought a ticket for a friend instead), so if I'm stuck with this option, could someone "buy" the credit from me (at a reduced price - hey, winter sales! - i.e. use my account to use up the credit?

 

Otherwise, are they actually still doing returning for resales? It sounds like this is only an option within 24 hours of the performance, but I wasn't sure if I could actually get the refund, especially if it took box office several days to reply to my enquiry about what to do with these tickets. 

 

And of course, if anyone would like one or more front row seats for Ruination this Thursday... <wink>

 

(Disclaimer: I adore Ben Duke's work, and it would be wonderful to see some of my ex-Rambert friends, especially Miguel, plus yeay at front row seats, but I might end up having to catch a later train down, although that would still leave lots of tickets even if I do manage to see it.)

What has worked for me.....Send an email to the box office (address on site) and put ' ticket return for resale' and date of performance on the subject line and send high priority. Put the order number in the body (I cut and paste from my Events page) They have always responded 

[alison]

Welcome back, Chantal - it's good to see you back here.  I fear you'll find a lot has changed about the ROH in the time you've been away, and not always for the good.  For a start, you won't recognise the place - including the new Linbury - if you haven't been here since the latest redevelopment.  Yes, there is no way of speaking to the box office these days for ordinary people - it's a post-Covid measure, but I suspect it will now be claimed that everyone does everything online and there is no need actually to interact with the box office in an emergency.  (After all, who gets stuck on a broken-down train an hour before the performance when they are holding all the tickets for their party and need to get some sort of duplicate issued?)  Although I suppose the ROH switchboard does still exist.  (Edit: it does - have just received a standard email telling me that if I want to withdraw my ticket from sale I need to phone on the switchboard number).

 

As I understand it, the rules are that you can "e-return" tickets up to 24 hours before a performance (to boxoffice@... rather than onlinebooking@... I think?) and they will be exchanged for a credit to your account, minus the £4 per ticket admin charge.   There are no actual refunds.  Within the 24 hour period, it appears to be at the box office's discretion - I've just been notified that my ticket for this afternoon has been put back on sale.  So, yes, you'll get credit valid for 36 months - what you do with it after that is, I guess, up to you  

 

I hope that is of some help, at least.

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/visit/tickets/gift-certificates

[Guest oncnp]

10 minutes ago, alison said:

Welcome back, Chantal - it's good to see you back here.  I fear you'll find a lot has changed about the ROH in the time you've been away, and not always for the good.  For a start, you won't recognise the place - including the new Linbury - if you haven't been here since the latest redevelopment.  Yes, there is no way of speaking to the box office these days for ordinary people - it's a post-Covid measure, but I suspect it will now be claimed that everyone does everything online and there is no need actually to interact with the box office in an emergency.  (After all, who gets stuck on a broken-down train an hour before the performance when they are holding all the tickets for their party and need to get some sort of duplicate issued?)  Although I suppose the ROH switchboard does still exist.  (Edit: it does - have just received a standard email telling me that if I want to withdraw my ticket from sale I need to phone on the switchboard number).

 

As I understand it, the rules are that you can "e-return" tickets up to 24 hours before a performance (to boxoffice@... rather than onlinebooking@... I think?) and they will be exchanged for a credit to your account, minus the £4 per ticket admin charge.   There are no actual refunds.  Within the 24 hour period, it appears to be at the box office's discretion - I've just been notified that my ticket for this afternoon has been put back on sale.  So, yes, you'll get credit valid for 36 months - what you do with it after that is, I guess, up to you  

 

I hope that is of some help, at least.

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/visit/tickets/gift-certificates

 

and Ticket Exchanges, Resales and Refunds (roh.org.uk)

Edited December 20, 2022 by oncnp

[Beryl H]

 

 

 

It seems that putting a ticket on sale within 24 hours of the performance and if successful, paying the money back into your

bank account has been accepted as normal procedure again, it was before Covid, I've done it several times recently for last minute decisions. I send the E-mail to boxoffice@roh.org.uk

[Mary]

I've had to return tickets far more often than I would have wished in the past 3 years, and I must say the Box Office have been consistently  very helpful and efficient.  I usually email.

 

[harpistic]

5 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

and Ticket Exchanges, Resales and Refunds (roh.org.uk)

Indeed - but I realised that as it's Nut season, any non-Nut tickets don't stand a chance! 

 

[alison]

Still worth returning them at least 24 hours in advance, though

[JNC]

I think you get charged £4 admin regardless of when you return.

 

if you return within 24 hours and they sell do you get a refund (minus £4) as used to be the case or is it still credit?

 

I would always play it safe and return before 24 hours as I know I’ll use the credit (!) but if you’re confident it would sell and you preferred the cash you could wait until 24 hours before - but double check my information isn’t out of date!

 

if it doesn’t sell within the 24 hour window you of course don’t get anything! 

Edited December 21, 2022 by JNC

[Guest oncnp]

2 minutes ago, JNC said:

I think you get charged £4 admin regardless of when you return.

 

if you return within 24 hours and they sell do you get a refund (minus £4) as used to be the case or is it still credit?

 

I have had the refund issued in the same form the original payment was made, i.e. if paid with credit card, it is refunded to that card and if paid with ROH account credit, it is returned to your account

[Emeralds]

 

On 19/12/2022 at 19:52, harpistic said:

Hello, 

 

I've worked out that it's nearly six years since I was last at ROH, and I'd stopped going regularly several years before that. Add to that not having used Facebook for several years too, and I now have lots of front row seats for Ruination on Thursday which nobody seems to want. 

 

I was hoping for some actual advice on what my options are with these tickets; I hadn't realised that in these intervening years, ROH no longer deals with actual enquiries from members of the general public. 

 

Getting credit for the tickets is completely pointless for me as I won't be able to use it (the only show I've wanted to see was Light of Passage, so I bought a ticket for a friend instead), so if I'm stuck with this option, could someone "buy" the credit from me (at a reduced price - hey, winter sales! - i.e. use my account to use up the credit?

 

Otherwise, are they actually still doing returning for resales? It sounds like this is only an option within 24 hours of the performance, but I wasn't sure if I could actually get the refund, especially if it took box office several days to reply to my enquiry about what to do with these tickets. 

 

And of course, if anyone would like one or more front row seats for Ruination this Thursday... <wink>

 

(Disclaimer: I adore Ben Duke's work, and it would be wonderful to see some of my ex-Rambert friends, especially Miguel, plus yeay at front row seats, but I might end up having to catch a later train down, although that would still leave lots of tickets even if I do manage to see it.)

 

Chantal

If you’re v v certain you’re definitely not going to attend or not able to, I’d email them (put the show date and order number in your subject/title) as soon as possible so they can resell as many as possible.

 

There may be groups or interested theatregoers out there if large numbers of tickets are put back on sale as soon as possible. If people wait till the last minute, interested Folk might have checked the website, saw “sold out” and made other plans so it’s best to return the tickets as soon as you can.

 

You stand a good chance of resale and getting your money back as quite a lot of the shows are sold out or nearly sold out bar one or two restricted view seats.

Your tickets are front row so should be a good chance of reselling if you return them as quickly as possible.

 

ROH puts out all tickets returned for resale out unlike Barbican Centre and Sadler’s Wells which refuses to put your tickets for resale until all their own unsold ones have gone (which is annoying as you might have an unsold ticket in a good seat that a patron wants rather than the restricted views or v pricey areas the box office is still trying to sell so nobody buys and it’s a lose-lose situation). That said, Sadler’s Wells will accept the tickets if it’s returned more than 2 days in advance.

 

ROH refunds it to your credit card or debit card minus £4 admin fee per ticket. Not box office credit any more. But you don’t get a refund for any ticket left unsold unfortunately, so I would email the box office ASAP.

 

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Emeralds

[Guest oncnp]

12 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

 

If you’re v v certain you’re definitely not going to attend or not able to, I’d email them (put the show date and order number in your subject/title) as soon as possible so they can resell as many as possible.

 

There may be groups or interested theatregoers out there if large numbers of tickets are put back on sale as soon as possible. If people wait till the last minute, interested Folk might have checked the website, saw “sold out” and made other plans so it’s best to return the tickets as soon as you can.

 

You stand a good chance of resale and getting your money back as quite a lot of the shows are sold out or nearly sold out bar one or two restricted view seats.

Your tickets are front row so should be a good chance of reselling if you return them as quickly as possible.

 

ROH puts out all tickets returned for resale out unlike Barbican Centre and Sadler’s Wells which refuses to put your tickets for resale until all their own unsold ones have gone (which is annoying as you might have an unsold ticket in a good seat that a patron wants rather than the restricted views or v pricey areas the box office is still trying to sell so nobody buys and it’s a lose-lose situation). That said, Sadler’s Wells will accept the tickets if it’s returned more than 2 days in advance.

 

ROH refunds it to your credit card or debit card minus £4 admin fee per ticket. Not box office credit any more. But you don’t get a refund for any ticket left unsold unfortunately, so I would email the box office ASAP.

 

 

If you want a refund, ticket must be submitted within 24 hours of performance. Prior to that it's box office credit as below....

 

We cannot exchange tickets to another ROH production or give refunds. However, there are flexible options available to you:

• Up to 24 hours before the performance, you can exchange tickets for an account credit to use at a later date. You will be charged an administrative fee of £4 per ticket.
• If it is less than 24 hours before the performance or event, you can offer your tickets for resale through the ROH Box Office. You will be charged an administrative fee of £4 per ticket.

Edited December 21, 2022 by oncnp

[Emeralds]

4 minutes ago, oncnp said:

If you want a refund, ticket must be submitted within 24 hours of performance and box office credit does exist. The policy states....

 

We cannot exchange tickets to another ROH production or give refunds. However, there are flexible options available to you:

• Up to 24 hours before the performance, you can exchange tickets for an account credit to use at a later date. You will be charged an administrative fee of £4 per ticket.
• If it is less than 24 hours before the performance or event, you can offer your tickets for resale through the ROH Box Office. You will be charged an administrative fee of £4 per ticket.

Hmm, interesting that they just gave me money back (for tickets returned in advance, ie way before 24 hours prior) without asking if I wanted box office credit! 😂 I’m ok with either as I’m there so often. OP doesn’t want/can’t have box office credit though.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Emeralds

[Guest oncnp]

4 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Hmm, interesting that they just gave me money back (for tickets returned in advance) without asking if I wanted box office credit! 😂 I’m ok with either as I’m there so often. OP doesn’t want/can’t have box office credit though.

How many days in advance did you return them? Didn't realize the ROH is not following its own policies

 

When I've returned tickets recently, it's always been account credit

Edited December 21, 2022 by oncnp

[San Perregrino]

21 minutes ago, oncnp said:

How many days in advance did you return them? Didn't realize the ROH is not following its own policies

 

When I've returned tickets recently, it's always been account credit

more importantly, how recently did Emeralds return them?  Refund/returns policy was different during the pandemic to what it is now.

[alison]

4 hours ago, oncnp said:

If you want a refund, ticket must be submitted within 24 hours of performance. Prior to that it's box office credit as below....

 

• Up to 24 hours before the performance, you can exchange tickets for an account credit to use at a later date. You will be charged an administrative fee of £4 per ticket.

 

Actually, that first statement, taken on its own, is quite misleading: it could be read in two completely contradictory ways.  What it means is that you can exchange for credit if the performance is at least 24 hours away, NOT that you have to do it within the 24 hours immediately before the performance!

[alison]

This was what I got when I "returned" a ticket for a sold-out performance, less than 24 hours before it started:

 

"Thank you for returning your ticket(s) to us for resale. 

 

 
As your resale has now been successful, please note that all due refunds wherever possible are made to the credit or debit card with which the ticket(s) were purchased; where this is not possible, a refund in the form of a Royal Opera House Gift Certificate will be issued. There is an administration fee of £4 per ticket."

 

So that seems pretty much like what it was pre-Covid - but the "return for credit at least 24 hours in advance" still seems to apply at present.

 

Most important thing is that someone obviously got to enjoy the performance in my place, for which I'm very glad.

[LinMM]

Not sure how precise they are about the 24 hour rule but last week because of the weather I rang up the box office around midday on Monday to return my Nutcracker ticket for the next day 7.30 performance so a little over 24 hours in advance. 
It seemed that I was automatically offered for a credit (gift certificate) on my account no mention of a refund being offered to be paid directly back onto my debit card! This was plus the £4 charge etc. This performance was literally sold out at the time I rang as well. 

I watched my ticket go back on sale and it was gone within half an hour!! 
I’m now going tomorrow as managed to buy another ticket as soon as saw the weather this week was going to be different. 
In the end it didn’t matter that much as I know I will use a credit within three years…unless the Grim Reaper turns up unexpectedly 😳 

However just surprised some have been offered direct refunds. 
Perhaps 31 hours before was a bit close perhaps they really mean though any time the day before is actually considered 24 hours before. 

[bridiem]

15 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Not sure how precise they are about the 24 hour rule but last week because of the weather I rang up the box office around midday on Monday to return my Nutcracker ticket for the next day 7.30 performance so a little over 24 hours in advance. 
It seemed that I was automatically offered for a credit (gift certificate) on my account no mention of a refund being offered to be paid directly back onto my debit card! This was plus the £4 charge etc. This performance was literally sold out at the time I rang as well. 

I watched my ticket go back on sale and it was gone within half an hour!! 
I’m now going tomorrow as managed to buy another ticket as soon as saw the weather this week was going to be different. 
In the end it didn’t matter that much as I know I will use a credit within three years…unless the Grim Reaper turns up unexpectedly 😳 

However just surprised some have been offered direct refunds. 
Perhaps 31 hours before was a bit close perhaps they really mean though any time the day before is actually considered 24 hours before. 

 

The refund (minus admin charge) would only be given if you'd returned the ticket less than 24 hours before the performance and it was then re-sold. Since it was more than 24 hours in advance you just got the credit (whether or not they then re-sold it). Anyway I'm glad you got another ticket!

[alison]

Either that or someone clicked on the wrong standard paragraph, for all I know!

[LinMM]

Thanks Bridiem! 
In fact it was such a hassle chasing after tickets for tomorrows matinee in the end as a few at a time were coming back (then nothing for a few hours with the dreaded sold out in place) but then I kept waiting for either a less expensive or more expensive ticket to turn up so that when I finally chose the seat I daren’t use the gift certificate (as not used one before) in case it went wrong lol so still have that to spend …probably on Cinderella! 

[bridiem]

17 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Thanks Bridiem! 
In fact it was such a hassle chasing after tickets for tomorrows matinee in the end as a few at a time were coming back (then nothing for a few hours with the dreaded sold out in place) but then I kept waiting for either a less expensive or more expensive ticket to turn up so that when I finally chose the seat I daren’t use the gift certificate (as not used one before) in case it went wrong lol so still have that to spend …probably on Cinderella! 

 

Well I just forgot to use my gift certificate in my anxiety to get the last booking done without a hitch!

[Emeralds]

Went back and rechecked my emails as I was intrigued that others were still getting box office credit (I find it easier to do box office credit as it’s almost instant whereas refunds take time to appear on my statements) and looked up the old transactions. Turns out that the ticket returns that I had remembered as being quite far in advance were actually closer to the performance time than I thought because they were for early matinees (eg one at 12.30pm!)....so it was actually returned by email at 24h 18mins before one show, and 24h 2min for another. If there was a queue in my server or theirs it could well have reached them later, making it within 24 hours. (If it had been an evening show at the usual time of 7.30 then it would have been over 30 hours in advance.) These returns were in October and November this season.

 

I have occasionally returned tickets with only 3hours left to go and a box office staff member has replied very speedily -within the hour, so they’re obviously watching the emails closely and prioritising the urgent and immediate ones. (The tickets did sell but they were single tickets for completely sold out last or second last performances- I don’t recommend waiting this late normally.) 

 

Hope Chantal managed to get some or all tickets for the show resold and some refunds at least. 

Edited December 23, 2022 by Emeralds