AIBU to expect the cinema to refund the booking fee?

[Bake]

Me, DD8 and DS3 went to watch Toy Story 3 at Cineworld last week. It was 9am viewing and we had the cinema to ourselves. We arrived early and were sat at the back, a minute or two after the screen turned on, something ran down the wall a couple of feet from where we were sitting. It moved incredibly fast but we saw it, heard the scuttling noise as it ran down the wall and a squeak. We were all startled by it and the kids immediately jumped out of their seats and asked to leave. I switched the torch on my phone on and shined it under the seat where it seemed to go but couldn't see anything.

We went back to the entrance and reported when had happened and the guy who was checking tickets said he'd get the manager. The manager dealt with it well, he immediately offered a refund and went to have a look. I'd left our water bottles at our seats so we went with him and I showed him where we'd seen it. Looked like it might have been in a speaker and then probably ran out once the screen turned on and the speaker started making noise.

The manager could clearly see my 3yo and 8yo in great distress, so refunded the nearly £30 ticket cost but said he couldn't do anything about the £3 booking fee. He also gave us 3 complimentary tickets, however, neither me nor my children are are likely to return to the cinema for a long time, if ever! I contacted Cineworld to ask for £3 booking fee to be refunded due to the circumstances, plus as goodwill, my £3.50 parking fee as it was 9am on a Sunday and nowhere else was open in the shoppong centre

Cineworld have replied with two more complimentary tickets (despite 3 of us attending), that need to be used within 30 days despite me telling them we definitely won't be back in a hurry.

AIBU to expect them to refund my £3 booking fee!? I really don't think I could ever return to any cinema after that.

You sound as difficult as the OP. You can also see that I acknowledge the separate booking fee in my first post.

You are being a bit strange to be honest

How big was that mouse that you heard it squeak 😂after the screen was turned on less

Im not trying to be petty as you clearly are. I explained that she received a full refund and then acknowledged the unrefunded booking fee separately. I think it was clear.
Bizarre.

Good grief what a ridiculous overreaction. It was a mouse, not a poisonous snake. Why have you raised your DC to find such an event distressing? I would have just sat down and watched the film. The cinema has more than pandered to you already, let it go.

Bloody hell, mice and rats are all around us constantly. Nowhere is guaranteed to be rodent free. We inhabit this planet alongside many many other animals. You sound unhinged. And very grabby. You've been compensated way out of proportion to the value of your original purchase.

The cinema has been more than fair!

Have read the whole thing. You are a massive drama llama who has taught your children to overreact to minor incidents. Why were they ‘in great distress’ at a mouse? How on earth did you hear a mouse squeak with the speakers generating loud sound?

I watch BBC Parliament committee meetings. The mice attend every meeting.🐭

What a ridiculous fuss over a mouse.

You’re embarrassing yourself quibbling over £3. The manager acted quickly and gave you more than you spent ticket wise. You’re the one choosing not to use them.

The staff will be rolling their eyes if you keep calling or emailing about this. It’s crazy territory, and that comes from someone who fights for refunds if they’re deserved.

op I will buy your 5 tickets for £6, that would be a bloody bargain.

also, we're the kids hysterical because you over reacted? it's a mouse, they don't bite. move forward a few rows, carry on and it would have been forgotten. or leave and go another day - if you're quick you can see TS5 instead of 3! Reassure the kids little mice aren't anything to be scared of and build their resilience instead of being over dramatic an scaring them

A mouse?? Mice are cute! Why are you bringing your children up to be scared of teeny tiny mice? YABU and ridiculous.

The manager could clearly see my 3yo and 8yo in great distress

Were they distressed because they saw a mouse or distressed because they couldn’t stay and watch the rest of the film?

I assume you don’t live in the countryside @Bake ?

OP there are rat traps at all food drive-thru restaurants, in supermarket car parks, out of town shopping centres etc, they have them in the bushes at the playground in our nearest shopping centre. There's mice and rats everywhere. My children would of found the situation funny and interesting. Unfortunately you're a little less amused by it, I think they've more than compensated for what happened and I wouldn't be going on about three pounds. You can sell those tickets on a local Facebook group and have a tidy profit. One mouse isn't an infestation.

But that's your choice!

You were not harmed, and you are simply perpetuating your own distress now...
I can appreciate you feeling "wiggy" on the day and wanting to leave, but never going back to any cinema again isnt a typical reaction.

If you have a phobia of small animals please consider getting some therapy for this so you dont pass it on to your kids!

It was a very generous and fair offer, especially as they were unable to verify it even happened! I mean, it's unfortunate that noone else was there to also corroborate and I imagine people take the piss at times - kids kicking off/change mind etc - and so people make up all sorts of shit and demand a refund!

Also, expecting the car park fee back is ludicrous too! Would you have asked for your bus fare if you'd travelled on public transport?

Was this a special treat/is money tight etc? Cause that makes more sense why you'd be stressed over 6.50... but otherwise... it's miserly and all a bit disproportionate.

It isn't a full refund as she didnt get her £3 booking fee back or her parking fee. She is so hard done to all she got back was her money & 5 free tickets....surprised she isn't trying to sue them for therapy bills for her dc tbh

@Bake I do get why you were shaken , nobody wants something scuttling past their head in a dark cinema, but I still think Cineworld have handled this more than reasonably.

You did get a refund for the actual tickets. The £3 booking fee isn’t something the manager can refund because it isn’t a “ticket cost”, it’s a charge applied by the booking system, not the cinema itself. It’s the same everywhere: if you cancel, if the film is cancelled, if there’s an issue… the booking fee is almost always non‑refundable because it isn’t tied to the cinema’s revenue.

It’s annoying, yes, but it’s standard. I recently booked some theatre tickets and there was a £6 booking fee. The show got cancelled as the host was involved in an accident, I got a full theatre ticket refund but not the booking fee as that is a transaction fee for using the online booking system rather than buying in person. I didn't like it but I accept it and that wasn't my fault either. Had I taken my chances at the theatre that tickets were available when I turned up, I wouldn't have had to pay the booking fee but I chose certainty.

And on top of the refund, they’ve given you:

• three complimentary tickets on the day
• two more afterwards

That’s £50+ worth of goodwill for a £3 fee they don’t actually control. You’re saying you’ll never return to any cinema again, which is your choice, but that does make it hard to argue that Cineworld should refund extra costs when you wouldn’t be using the compensation anyway.

The parking fee also isn’t theirs to refund. That belongs to the shopping centre, not Cineworld.

So realistically:

• They refunded everything they could refund
• They compensated you far beyond what they were obliged to
• The only thing left is a fee they don’t own and can’t legally reverse

Expecting them to refund a third‑party booking charge because you were startled (understandably!) is a bit unrealistic.
You had a fright, your kids were upset, and it wasn’t a nice experience, but Cineworld have actually been very generous here.

It's only a mouse OP. They're everywhere. My cat leaves one on the lawn for me every couple of days.
I used to like watching the mice on the Northern Line.

How do you make out that ONE mouse / rat is an infestation?

It's unlikely to be a single rodent living a hermit life, to be fair.

it's a mouse, they don't bite.

They do if you pick them up, even when you're rescuing it from the cat, ungrateful little creature...

I think the refund was fair, and the booking fee is not worth arguing over. I hope the manager is revisiting their vermin control regime, though.

YABU for going to a 9am viewing.

Well that's on you, not the cinema. What a fuss over nothing! I really don't understand these posters who quibble over losing a few pounds either. Honestly, just get over it - and maybe teach your kids resilience. One mouse does not an 'infestation' make!

Yes, I have the same question.

Eight year old me would have been sobbing my heart out if my mother had dragged me out of any planned outing, away from a cute little mouse! 🐁 If I was missing out on the cinema because of the mouse, that would have been the icing on top.

Absolutely pathetic. You should be ashamed of yourself for modelling such lack of resilience to your children.