unfortunately this is, no matter how i try and word it, going to all sound like a whine. or a complaint, or a woe, oh, poor, poor, pitiful me thing, look you see. i cannot (and thus will not) blame anyone but moi, yet all the same i thought it would be worth throwing out (onto the internet) the answer to a question. with that question being "is it worth getting ticket insurance", or something like that. perhaps it gets worded like "is it worth getting ticket protection". in either instance, the answer is resoundingly no.
i was due to be at another concert next weekend. rather a special one, more so because i was taking a dear friend who(m) really, really wished to go. alas they have become medically incapacitated, although that sounds rather dramatic, and they cannot attend. briefly i considered going alone, for that is how i do go to most gigs after all, but ultimately went "no", the real joy of this one was how much it meant to my friend. so, i elected to cancel.
this, i assumed, would not be a problem. we do live in an era of (usually good) consumer rights, with all protected and the ways in which companies can f*** you over being rather limited. except, of course, in respect of concert tickets, as is widely known. still, i purchased something called "refund protection", which i took as a kind of insurance, so took it as a given cancelling would not be an issue. certainly i had no issues with cancelling either the train tickets or the hotel.
how wrong i was on that. if you have ever tried to get a refund on concert tickets you probably know all of this. but let me make something clear - no, i absolutely did not read the "terms and conditions", partially as i didn't expect to need to use the "insurance" but mostly (and let us be honest) like everyone else it is a case of "do i f***" read such on the internet, no one does.
weirdly specific and very (tres) limited are the conditions in which they, them, the ticket insurance people will (or shall) let you cancel and get a refund. essentially there are four (4) reasons why they just might honour a refund. these are you are dead (if you send a death certificate), you have been called up for active military service (if you provide your call up papers), if you are at a certain stage of pregnancy (and send medical evidence of this) or if your doctor says you can't attend on medical grounds (if the doctor fills out a form for you and signs it). silly me thinking that if i bought "ticket protection" it would be what is said on the box'
concert ticket sales, as is widely known, is the only "legal" business left which seems to have precisely zero regulation, control, scruples or morals. i need not bring up the Oasis "dynamic pricing" debacle, but i just have. the mind boggles at what, exactly (in the above image), "processing fee" and "fulfilment fee" are. but yes, i merrily ticked "refund protection" for £5. quite tempting at such a relatively low price, and you tend to think "rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it", when in reality all that happens is someone says "thank you very much for giving me five quid for no reason".
my thinking is that they should outlaw this one. it is little more than a lazy and dishonest way of raking in yet more money for nothing, but again yes, no, i did not read the "terms and conditions". surely, in this era of "consumer protection", the only four (4) deemed "valid" reasons for cancelling are ones that you would expect they refund for anyway, irrespective of "insurance". what's the alternative? saying to someone oh, you are dead? that's a shame, but f*** you, you can get someone to bring your corpse, or if too late ashes, to the concert.
no, i am not going off on some crusade with the absolute tw@ts that offer this "protection" because i knowingly did not read the terms and conditions. far enough. instead i have listed the tickets on one of them "authorised resale" sites, at a vastly reduced cost, in the hope that a genuine fan picks them up and has a boss time. the money i have already written off, so a nominal fee felt fair.
doubtful that i shall be selecting any form of ticket "insurance" or "protection" for any other gigs that take my fancy, thanks. they fleece us music lovers six different ways as it is. perhaps i have been the only one stupid enough to tick this option on purchases anyway. if not, well, for what my experience is worth, i would suggest you absolutely do not select any sort of ticket "insurance" or "protection", because doing so sees you spend money on that which does not exist.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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