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Post by inthenose on Mar 6, 2022 9:59:41 GMT
If they announced it on the tannoy, there would bound to be an audible groan. Has Redmayne missed a show? Not one, and not late once I am told. Said to be a model professional and an absolute delight by a tech guy I know there. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2022 10:12:54 GMT
Of course getting a refund when a named actor is off, would be great customer service. I agree with that 100%. I've even been to a show where the named person was off and I got a refund AND stayed to watch the show I just got a refund for.
However that has only happened once and is far from normal.
Why would people feel foolish if a named actor wasn't on that night? That's got zero to do with the T&Cs.
Of course retail stores have a refund/return policy. They want return business, though even they have T&Cs with them. No returns after 30 days, unused, original packaging etc. But whi
But a refund policy like that for London theatres, doesn't exist. It's never existed and I doubt it will, given how much risk there is attached to it for the producers. You barely even get an understudy slip in the program these days, let alone a 'At this performance...' announcement just before the show starts.
Everyone is aware of the no exchange/refund clause when you buy a ticket, SO i'm I'm baffled when people are surprised that they aren't going to get a refund or credit note.
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Post by inthenose on Mar 6, 2022 10:21:26 GMT
Sometimes change is good as we've seen in recent years, and if more people demanded transparency at the very least it would force producers to be honest in their dealings.
The ticket prices are in unchartered waters. This is a whole new playing field and people are right to demand honesty, transparency and value. If the value comes from the star names above the billing, they should be compensated when that value is lost.
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Post by shadypines on Mar 6, 2022 10:24:42 GMT
Incidentally, if you book with a credit card, you could always withhold payment by initiating a chargeback on the transaction under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. The ticket must've cost over £100, and the production company has the right to dispute it, but it's another option. Often credit card companies will side with the consumer regards of "small print", if there is room for doubt or it is in their interest to do so - and they may not dispute at all. If you can back up your claim with proof of a previous refund request - ideally in writing (email will do) in advance of the show clearly stating your reasons then your case would be even stronger, though this is not always possible with "unannounced" absences. I believe that's only if you haven't received the product or service. Like if you ordered something online and it wasnt delivered. If you've seen the show the theatre will say you've received the service. You might not like the show, but that doesn't entitle you to a refund. Especially if the theatre proves your tickets were used. |
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Post by inthenose on Mar 6, 2022 10:31:45 GMT
Incidentally, if you book with a credit card, you could always withhold payment by initiating a chargeback on the transaction under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. The ticket must've cost over £100, and the production company has the right to dispute it, but it's another option. Often credit card companies will side with the consumer regards of "small print", if there is room for doubt or it is in their interest to do so - and they may not dispute at all. If you can back up your claim with proof of a previous refund request - ideally in writing (email will do) in advance of the show clearly stating your reasons then your case would be even stronger, though this is not always possible with "unannounced" absences. I believe that's only if you haven't received the product or service. Like if you ordered something online and it wasnt delivered. If you've seen the show the theatre will say you've received the service. You might not like the show, but that doesn't entitle you to a refund. Especially if the theatre proves your tickets were used. Or if the product or service is "not as described". In this case, missing the aspect you paid money expecting to receive - namely the star(s) advertised for the show. If you could reasonably demonstrate that the production knew the star performer definitely would not be appearing at the time you bought the ticket, (holiday, scheduled appearances elsewhere) you would almost certainly succeed from experience. This is because they have knowingly offered a product or service they cannot provide. |
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Post by TallPaul on Mar 6, 2022 10:33:05 GMT
I wonder if the famous ATG T&C’s have ever been tested for fairness? Just because ATG write it, doesn’t make it legal. If the T&C’s are fundamentally unfair to the consumer then they could be told to change them. Do we have any experts in consumer law on the forum?? It previously came under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, but has now been consolidated into The Consumer Rights Act 2015, specifically Part 2. There is a recognition that in business to consumer contracts, without intervention there would be an imbalance in favour of the former. |
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Post by apubleed on Mar 6, 2022 10:39:51 GMT
“ But a refund policy like that for London theatres, doesn't exist. It's never existed and I doubt it will, given how much risk there is attached to it for the producers”
But this is the key point. Why are producers offloading the risk to consumers? It shouldn’t be our risk to take that the producers couldn’t get Glenn Close in the room when they said they would. That should be their risk - west end theatre is one of the few examples I can think of where the risk of non-delivery of a service seems to be offloaded to audiences. Otherwise (and I mean this sincerely) if the producers don’t want to take the risk don’t advertise Glenn Close in the show and just sell the name of the show. But we know they won’t do this because they are obviously banking on the name - you can’t have you cake and eat it too though.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 6, 2022 10:40:11 GMT
I once made two hotel bookings for the same dates in the same resort on booking.com with the intention of deciding nearer the time which one I would use and cancelling the other. Of course I totally forgot and only realised when I got an email from the hotel I hadn’t used saying the entire cost for the week had been charged to my card. Policy for all other hotels I’d looked at was the first night would be charged which is fair enough. It wasn’t much short of a thousand quid on my card so after I 💩 meself I looked up the cancellation policy and yes, that’s what it said. Booking.com refused to get involved and referred me to the hotel who never answered my emails. I went to my credit card company and they immediately said that the hotel wasn’t allowed to invoke such an unreasonable condition and they got my money back exceot the cost of the first night. It took about a month. A big FU to booking.com and the hotel La Niña Sitges.
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Post by inthenose on Mar 6, 2022 10:45:29 GMT
I once made two hotel bookings for the same dates in the same resort on booking.com with the intention of deciding nearer the time which one I would use and cancelling the other. Of course I totally forgot and only realised when I got an email from the hotel I hadn’t used saying the entire cost for the week had been charged to my card. Policy for all other hotels I’d looked at was the first night would be charged which is fair enough. It wasn’t much short of a thousand quid on my card so after I 💩 meself I looked up the cancellation policy and yes, that’s what it said. Booking.com refused to get involved and referred me to the hotel who never answered my emails. I went to my credit card company and they immediately said that the hotel wasn’t allowed to invoke such an unreasonable condition and they got my money back exceot the cost of the first night. It took about a month. A big FU to booking.com and the hotel La Niña Sitges. This reinforces my point about T&C's not being enforceable when attacked with legal statutes and what a court would deem "reasonable". Anyone can run a company and make up legalese with the most outrageous terms of service and they would be entirely uninforcable. This is why I buy everything on credit card. Another thing to remember is the law is one thing, common sense is another. Would be an interesting case study. |
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Mar 6, 2022 11:50:56 GMT
If they announced it on the tannoy, there would bound to be an audible groan. Has Redmayne missed a show? Not one, and not late once I am told. Said to be a model professional and an absolute delight by a tech guy I know there. A friend of my daughter booked to see Cabaret purely because of Eddie Redmayne. She had never heard of Jesse Buckley and I can't honestly say her name meant much to me. (It does now!) No disrespect to Jesse whose career is clearly in the ascendency , but I suspect if Eddie Redmayne had missed shows there would have been more negative publicity and refund/exchange demands. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2022 13:44:40 GMT
Incidentally, if you book with a credit card, you could always withhold payment by initiating a chargeback on the transaction under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. The ticket must've cost over £100, and the production company has the right to dispute it, but it's another option. Often credit card companies will side with the consumer regards of "small print", if there is room for doubt or it is in their interest to do so - and they may not dispute at all. If you can back up your claim with proof of a previous refund request - ideally in writing (email will do) in advance of the show clearly stating your reasons then your case would be even stronger, though this is not always possible with "unannounced" absences. Section 75 doesn't always work when booking through a third party, such as a ticketing agency, so its always best to book with the venue itself directly. |
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Post by inthenose on Mar 6, 2022 16:11:51 GMT
Incidentally, if you book with a credit card, you could always withhold payment by initiating a chargeback on the transaction under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. The ticket must've cost over £100, and the production company has the right to dispute it, but it's another option. Often credit card companies will side with the consumer regards of "small print", if there is room for doubt or it is in their interest to do so - and they may not dispute at all. If you can back up your claim with proof of a previous refund request - ideally in writing (email will do) in advance of the show clearly stating your reasons then your case would be even stronger, though this is not always possible with "unannounced" absences. Section 75 doesn't always work when booking through a third party, such as a ticketing agency, so its always best to book with the venue itself directly. Excellent point. |
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Post by fiyero on Mar 6, 2022 16:43:01 GMT
I am confused by people saying they didn't realise an actor was off. Don't people look at the cast board anymore? I don't think a production is obliged to inform an audience any more than that. I’ll misquote Douglas Adams: It isn’t quite that bad at The Playhouse but it is hard to get to. I think they should put one outside too, so you can take a photo of it! In some theatres if you sit in the upper circle you can’t see one at all!!! |
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Post by jaggy on Mar 6, 2022 22:13:39 GMT
I also think you're very confused. I am not that angry about this situation even though you claim I am. At no point in my response, did I claim you were angry. Although your original message was referring to me, my response was more about the thread as a whole, and the amount of posts from people who expect something they're never going to get. Yes, you're totally right about the producers being unable to do as much if the situation is a day-to-day issue. However, if that is the case they could just say. What is it you would expect them to say? Jessie Buckley is going to be in and out but we don't know when that will be? We know refunds won't be given and exchanges would be useless. So, if the producers know something they can just spill because financially they're safe So really you just want the gossip of whats going on behind the scenes? Wow. Do you even read your posts before you submit them? You berated me for something I haven't even done; complaining about the ticket policy. Your constant use of "you" and passive aggressive tone made your reply seem like it's directed towards me. My original message was about how I didn't believe Jessie was skipping performances for award shows. You chose to reply to that post with something snarky. Literally yes. A statement saying "Due to doctors orders, Jessie Buckley is only able to perform on a day-to-day basis. We will inform whether she will be performing two hours before the scheduled performance time on our social media accounts." It's not hard. No one is asking for a carrier pigeon to deliver to every person informing that Buckley will be off. "So really you just want the gossip of what's going on behind the scenes?" lol, I'm not even rising to that one. I will now be disengaging from this conversation. I hope you get to go on that holiday. I think you really need it. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2022 22:36:28 GMT
Wow. Do you even read your posts before you submit them? You berated me for something I haven't even done; Like you claiming I said you were angry? You wanted Producers to spill the information as in to 'spill the beans' meaning sharing something private = gossip. Good luck with that statement. No-one knows why she is off and what use is a 2 hour notification for those who have to travel for a few hours to get into London? Thank you for your nice words about a holiday though. I'm actually going away on Saturday and really looking forward to it! I'll send you a postcard by carrier pigeon. |
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Post by shady23 on Mar 6, 2022 23:41:59 GMT
I am confused by people saying they didn't realise an actor was off. Don't people look at the cast board anymore? I don't think a production is obliged to inform an audience any more than that. At Cabaret, there is one small A4 notice posted on a wall next to the very busy champagne bar. There are no announcements, no clear signage if you use certain entrances and you wouldn't know the sign was there unless you went specifically to look for it There is an absolutely huge cast board at Cabaret which lists every actor who is playing every role in that performance. It is inside what used to be the main entrance (now the quick way in entrance.) |
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Post by inthenose on Mar 7, 2022 2:16:41 GMT
At Cabaret, there is one small A4 notice posted on a wall next to the very busy champagne bar. There are no announcements, no clear signage if you use certain entrances and you wouldn't know the sign was there unless you went specifically to look for it There is an absolutely huge cast board at Cabaret which lists every actor who is playing every role in that performance. It is inside what used to be the main entrance (now the quick way in entrance.) There isn't. There honestly isn't. I know where you mean but it wasn't in place when I saw Emily Benjamin. I know where you mean, but it wasn't there. |
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Post by shady23 on Mar 7, 2022 2:22:27 GMT
We will have to agree disagree then as I certainly did not imagine seeing it.
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Post by inthenose on Mar 7, 2022 5:35:45 GMT
We will have to agree disagree then as I certainly did not imagine seeing it. But given your agenda in this chat based on your comments so far, I could imagine you commenting about it being there, regardless of whether it was in itsu, to suit the agenda you have which would fit your narrative. Trusted people from this forum will no doubt continue to comment, as they should. As indeed they have done previously saying there are no notifications for the public. Incidentally, I know employees of this production at this venue, so I'd be careful. It's nobody's aim to make people look foolish with their "company line". I'm sure both times I went and happened to see Emily Benjamin that cast board you described was just being cleaned. |
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Post by shady23 on Mar 7, 2022 7:31:25 GMT
What on earth are you on about?
All I have said was when I went to the show there was a big cast board. I took a photo of it.
If you want to think I am making that up for some kind of point/agenda you crack on.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Mar 7, 2022 8:04:29 GMT
There was a big cast board when I went where shady described it as being
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2022 8:04:49 GMT
There was a huge cast board at the front of the theatre when I was there but it was difficult to get anywhere near it as it was blocked by the queue for the champagne bar.
Not sure why anyone is arguing over whether it was or wasn't there on a night they didn't see the show though - it might not always be put out.
And after all the assumptions from one poster's inaccurate rumour-mongering, it appears Jessie Buckley was not at the Independent Spirit Awards last night...
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 7, 2022 8:15:12 GMT
This cast board seems to be having more time off than some of the performers 😆.
Anyway, if we could just depersonalise the discussion and pull back on comments directed at other members moving forward please. thank you.
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Post by andrew on Mar 7, 2022 8:58:04 GMT
I've stopped replying in this thread because it's become a bit toxic and boring, but I couldn't resist posting the elusive cast board which definitely doesn't exist. BEHOLD!  |
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Post by danb on Mar 7, 2022 10:27:19 GMT
I can totally imagine that being wheeled in and out depending on its content. It isn’t massive is it? Massive is the huge board they used to have at Les Mis at the Palace. Now that was massive!
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