BANGKOK, 31 May 2011 – The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) hotline 1569 has been flooded with complaints about overpriced movie tickets and snacks as well as too long series of advertisements before the actual shows.
Consumers have been filing complaints via the DIT hotline for being unfairly treated at cinemas. One of the problems is expensive movie tickets, especially for newly released movies as they can be priced as high as 240 baht each while consumers are not informed of the price until they purchase.
Consumers are also dissatisfied with overpriced snacks sold in front of cinemas such as bottled water and popcorn as they are 100% more expensive than those sold in supermarkets while cinemas ban their customers from taking food purchased elsewhere into their premises.
In addition, consumers are complaining that many cinemas are pushing too many advertisements to their customers, which can be as long as 30 minutes in total, before the actual shows.
The DIT will dispatch its officials to inspect cinemas, especially in regard to movie ticket prices which must be properly shown so people can make decision before deciding to queue up for ticket purchase. As for overpriced ticket prices and snacks, the DIT will summon cinema entrepreneurs for further discussions.
