A new scam has come to light at PVR Cinemas in Lucknow, where customers were allegedly overcharged for movie tickets at the Saharaganj Hall in Hazratganj. A video posted by a social media creator exposes how the multiplex was charging significantly higher prices at the counter than those listed on online booking platforms.
The woman in the video shared her experience of trying to buy four tickets for the new Bollywood film Chhaava. She first checked the ticketing platform BookMyShow, where the ticket price was Rs 160 per ticket, making the total Rs 640. With BookMyShow's convenience fee, the final amount was Rs 758.
Since they were already at the cinema, she reasoned that it made no sense to pay over Rs 100 in convenience fees. Instead, she decided to purchase tickets directly from the counter.
At the counter, she was shocked when the staff quoted Rs 1,038 - charging them Rs 259 per ticket instead of Rs 160. When she asked why the price was so high, the counter staff claimed the amount included GST and other charges.
The group confronted the counter staff, pointing out that GST was already included in the ticket price displayed on BookMyShow.
"What scam is this?" they asked and threatened to take PVR to consumer court for fraudulent pricing.
Sensing trouble, the counter staff appeared nervous. She then removed a "combo" offer (which the group had never asked for) and reduced the bill to Rs 938 - still much higher than the original Rs 640.
When the customer insisted on a proper breakdown and refused to pay for any additional charges, the counter lady allegedly got irritated, threw her pen, and walked away to talk to her manager. After returning, she finally gave them the correct price of Rs 640 - proving that the additional charges were illegitimate.
The creator also showed a picture of the tickets, which clearly had CGST, GST, and service charges included under the Rs 160 per ticket price.
"Then why were they charging us extra GST?" she said in the video.
The creator further revealed that this wasn't an isolated incident. She had faced the exact same scam at PVR Sahu, Hazratganj, where the staff had overcharged them three times until they fought back and got the correct pricing.
"SCAM in PVR Saharaganj, PVR Sahu, Lucknow. Please share this as much as possible. They have to take action!!!" the caption read.
The video, now viral online, has sparked outrage.
An Instagram user commented, "Best solution is everyone boycott going for movies in cinema halls this is the only solution to put them in place. Crush their business by not patronising the cinema halls."
Another said, "Well done and thank you for informing. Next time, we will also be careful."
One user shared a similar experience: "The same thing happened to me a month ago. The ticket counter staff and manager were both involved. The manager orders them to sell tickets at higher prices and later gives them a commission. If someone catches on, the manager pretends he has no idea what's going on and says he'll 'talk to his staff.'"
Someone added, "Many PVR and INOX counters do this. I have had to ask them specifically to remove food vouchers and only charge me for the ticket. Sometimes they argue, but when I ask to call the manager and talk about filing a complaint, they back off."
While this customer didn't take legal action, last month, a Bengaluru man sued PVR for forcing audiences to watch 25 minutes of ads before a movie. 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.
