PVR Cinemas in Lucknow has become the site of a fresh ticketing scam in which customers faced unexpectedly high ticket prices at the Saharaganj Hall inside Hazratganj. The social media video shows how Saharaganj multiplex asked customers for ticket prices exceeding those found through online booking systems.
A woman featured in the video attempted to obtain four Chhaava screening tickets at the cinema. She visited BookMyShow first to see the ticket cost which amounted to Rs 640 from the price of Rs 160 per seat. Customers paid Rs 758 to BookMyShow due to its convenience fee policy.
The woman was already present in the theater so she believed that paying added convenience fees exceeding Rs 100 would be unreasonable. She rejected the typical practice and made her ticket purchase directly from the front desk.
She stood stupefied at the counter when staff members demanded Rs 1,038 even though each ticket amounted to Rs 259 instead of the advertised price of Rs 160. The counter staff told her the price contained GST together with different fees when she questioned the high amount.
The audience members expressed their disagreement with the counter staff by showing them the BookMyShow ticket prices which already contained GST.
“What scam is this?” Consumer court representatives appeared to threaten PVR with legal action because of their alleged fraudulent practices of charging too much money.
Signs indicating an impending conflict made the counter staff become visibly awkward. The staff member minimized the total bill cost to Rs 938 by taking away the combination promotion the group did not request even though it remained above the initial price of Rs 640.
The counter staff became upset when the customer demanded a clarified billing breakdown while not paying for extra fees so she left her workspace to consult her supervisor about the matter. On her return she provided the correct billing amount of Rs 640 thus revealing that all extra charges were baseless.
The visual representation of the tickets displayed CGST as well as GST and service charges within the total cost of Rs 160.
The staff should have included GST as part of the Rs 160 ticket fee since they were charging us additional GST. she said in the video.
Such illegal charging was not a one-off occurrence according to the person who created the content. She experienced the same scheme at PVR Sahu Hazratganj when staff charged them three times additional before she and her friends disputed for the correct rates.
“SCAM in PVR Saharaganj, PVR Sahu, Lucknow. The community needs to view this video as much as possible. They have to take action!!!” the caption read.
The online release of this video has become viral while creating widespread public anger.
Users on Instagram expressed that movie hall attendance should be boycotted until satisfaction with prices finds its proper solution. The solution to fight back is to eliminate the cash flow of their business through total disregard of their services.
The user expressed gratitude for the warning message while saying goodbye. We will exercise caution during our next cinema visit as well.
The same thing happened to me during the last month when I visited the cinema. The ticket counter staff and the manager took part in these activities together. Staff members receive instructions to raise ticket prices before getting additional payments from the manager. When customers discover the price increase scheme the manager acts clueless about the situation promising to investigate his staff.
The staff at PVR and INOX ticket counters engage in this practice according to various users. On different occasions I required them explicitly to cancel food voucher sales and limit ticket charges. Staff members attempt to dispute with customers until customers state their intention to contact the manager about filing a complaint at which point they withdraw their objections.
The customer did not pursue legal action against PVR but in the past month a Bengaluru resident filed a lawsuit against the company due to forced pre-movie advertising sessions lasting 25 minutes. The consumer court ruled it an “unfair trade practice,” ordering the multiplex chain to pay Rs 65,000 in damages and a Rs 1 lakh penalty.
For more updates follow: Latest News on NEWZZY
