It’s seems I’m becoming the next Isabel Jones these days with way I bitch and moan about how the South African consumer is constantly being ripped off. Well anyway, I’m going to talk about Ster Kinekor now and that’s just how it’s going to be.
Basically in the last few weeks I’ve been booking movies online and have noticed a disturbing new figure on the bill at the end of the transaction. It seems they have started charging a booking fee when you book for a movie online. I’m not quite sure why they would suddenly start charging this fee but they must be making an absolute fortune on it.
There are multiple issues to consider here. If Ster Kinekor is doing this to recoup the amount of money they are being charged by the credit card vendors then what they are doing is highly illegal. A company is not allowed to recoup this money from the consumer who seems to be getting a very raw deal here. Now I understand when I buy a product from Computicket they charge me a booking fee but it’s understood that this is how they make their money.
The second issue to consider is that I am being told that I should be punished for making a booking online rather than going to the cinema and standing in a queue for half an hour. Surely booking online is an easier process for Ster Kinekor? They don’t need to pay for staff to attend the counter and the company knows they have a certain amount of people coming to a movie. I’m pretty sure the whole point of an online portal is to make their system work faster although it seems that in South Africa we are shown time and time again that no matter where you buy from, online or not, you will be penalized in some way for giving a company your hard earned money.
While it might seem petty to complain over a couple of rands it truly is the principle; I’m not prepared to pay for their credit card fees thank you very much. If you’re not charged this amount at the counter then why online? It seems ridiculous and I don’t understand it.
I’d like an explanation by Ster Kinekor as to why they are charging this fee and what they intend to do about it. If anyone knows who to speak to there please tell me so I can forward this to them.
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Leave a comment at hellopeter.com and maybe mail the credit card depts at the bank.