"What Scam Is This?" Lucknow Movie Theatre Caught Overcharging Tickets

In a viral post, a customer has accused a movie theatre in Lucknow's Hazratganj of overcharging for movie tickets. The woman shared a video, allegedly showing a multiplex charging significantly higher prices at the counter than those listed on online booking platforms.

The woman spoke about trying to buy four tickets for Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava at Saharaganj Hall. 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.

She said since they were already at the cinema, it made no sense to pay over Rs 100 in convenience fees. Instead, she decided to buy tickets directly from the counter.

She says she was shocked when the staff quoted a price of Rs 1,038 - charging them Rs 259 per ticket instead of Rs 160. When she asked why, 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 the theatre to consumer court.

The counter staff appeared nervous in the video. The staff 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 worker allegedly showed irritation, threw her pen, and walked off to talk to her manager. When she returned, she finally charged the correct price of Rs 640 - proving, according to the customer, that the additional charges were illegal.

The post included a screenshot of the tickets, which clearly had CGST, GST, and service charges included within the Rs 160 per ticket price.

"Then why were they charging us extra GST?" the customer questioned in the video. She further claimed that this wasn't an isolated incident. She had the exact same experience at a theatre in Hazratganj, where the staff had charged them thrice the cost until they fought and got tickets at the correct price.

The video, now viral online, has sparked a debate on social media.

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.'"

While this customer didn't take legal action, last month, a Bengaluru man sued a company 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.