The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday said some movie theaters have been charging customers up to eight times the price of a movie ticket if they break the theater’s 3D glasses when watching movies in 3D.
Recent blockbuster movies such as Avatar attracted huge crowds to theaters equipped with 3D technology.
PHOTO: CHANG CHING-YA, TAIPEI TIMES
However, the consumer rights watchdog recently received reports that some theaters charged customers as much as NT$2,500 if they accidentally broke the 3D glasses.
The foundation last month conducted a survey of 10 movie theaters by asking service staff, as a regular consumer would, questions about the 3D movie ticket prices and 3D glasses.
The 3D movie tickets typically cost NT$70 to NT$80 more than regular movie tickets, which are generally below NT$300.
Of the 10 movie theaters that the foundation surveyed, those with the most expensive 3D movie tickets were Xinyi Vieshow Cinemas and Dazhi Miramar Cinemas.
“Most movie theaters said the reason 3D movies are more expensive than 2D movies is that the ticket price includes the 3D glasses rental fee and maintenance costs associated with the 3D equipment,” said Yu Kai-hsiung (游開雄), publisher of the foundation’s Consumer Reports Magazine.
The foundation also found that only two of the movie theaters surveyed said customers who accidentally broke the glasses did not have to pay for them, two theaters did not have related policies and six theaters charged customers fees ranging from NT$200 to NT$2,500 for breaking the glasses.
Among the theaters that charged customers the highest fees for breaking glasses were the Shin Kong Cineplex in Taichung (NT$2,500) and Ambassador Theater in Taipei (NT$2,000).
The foundation said it was “unfair” and “unreasonable” to charge customers if the 3D glasses broke because the devices, which are one-size-fits-all, are prone to break if people with different head sizes wear them.
“Charging higher ticket prices for 3D movies based on rental fees for the 3D glasses is unjustified because the cost of the 3D glasses to theaters is not very high,” Yu said.
Based on the wide discrepancy among theaters on charging customers for breaking 3D glasses, certain theaters were charging unreasonably high prices, he said.
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