Re cineworld : IS THIS LEGAL

My point at the time was that from what I had read most of the people that were backing Cineworld were doing so based on the black and white nature of following the rules i.e. how dare the OP bring a bottle of water into the cinema, how dare he question the cinemas right to search him, how dare he complain when he felt embarrassed and upset at the way he had been treated!
Are these people so moral that they have never broken the rules or the law, I would be willing to put money on the fact that at least 95% of people break some rule/ law everyday. It may only be something silly (going over the speed limit by 5MPH, returning a library book late!!) but a rule is a rule yet here they are being critical about a situation that most people would object to.
At the end of the day I agree with the OP and I also agree that he should be looking for some kind of apology and some form of compensation, that is the problem with us British we are too afraid to complain! Well I say if its justified then complain, its the only way to imrpove customer service etc!
Rant Over :)
 
It's a building open to the public but not a public building.

It's still private property and as such the owners can decide who they do or don't let in.

If the owners of the building (cinema/shop whatever) decide that x isn't welcome, there isn't a lot that x can do about it.

Banning people from public places (town centres etc) normally requires a court order.

When you buy a ticket you are agreeing to their t&c's.
So if part of that is no food or drink to be brought in you've agreed to it.

Anyway, the OP wasn't particularly bothered about the water being taken off them, it was more the manner in which it was done and the events afterwarRAB.
 
Except that more people seem to be on Cineworld's side than seem to be on the side of the OP who admitted he was trying to sneak food and drink into somewhere that he wasn't allowed to take it. Hopefully it will have done more damage to elite file's ego than to Cineworld's popularity. They've certainly gone up in my estimation. ;)
 
I work with the Security Industry and what I was told when I was being trained up is that by law they have to have signs up saying that you are entering a Stop and Search Area and then they can only do a search if they get the person's permission who they have stopped to search.

If he/she refuses they by law they could call in the police to do the search, which in the case of Cineworld I think wouldn't bother as they would be laughed at and it would also make them the laughing stock.

Also if A female customer has asked to be searched by a male member of staff then the female customer could really kick off and ask for female member of staff to do the search, if no female member of staff can be found then the male member of staff cannot and should not commence with the search as that could be classed as a type of assault (I can't think of what it is at the moment). So Cineworld need to watch what they are doing as they could be the ones ending up in court

If there is no signs up saying that they are stopping people then by law they could be done as it is classed as theft. Cineworld should have a sign on or near the main doors and also a sign should be displayed on some sort of wall that customers can see. If they are not displaying any signs then they are breaking the law.

Also if Cineworld are doing stop and search policy then they could be took to court as they have no experienced staff in this subject and they also need to be Licensed with the SIA (Security Industry Association) which means they will be trained to do the job properly and will have to pay
 
Is there really a big difference between Cineworld trying to sell you popcorn and Dixons trying to sell you an extended guarantee? In both cases the retailer makes more profit from selling the extras than from selling the main product, whether it's a cinema ticket or a toaster. But in each case, we have the right to decline their kind offer of an additional sale and to buy our popcorn or guarantees elsewhere.

It's not our job to help businesses make money. It's their job to help us.
 
That doesn't surprise me! They always used to keep the fire exit doors open too and I remember people just used to wander in from outside. :eek:
 
Are you pretending to be thick ?

A bag can contain anything so it's searched.

Any sympathy that I could have had for you has gone with your self pitying attitude...... if you don't take a bag in to the cinema you have no problem.....simple as that. I take a bag when I go to football and I'm searched. I expect it and I don't have a problem with it....:)
 
The majority of people are there to have the "cinema experience" which is popcorn and all. Whether expensive or not.



Conversely if people didn't bring in their own food and actually bought from the cinema, prices wouldn't be so expensive.



Whilst you are exception to the rule, it just isn't the done thing. If you went to a a restauraunt you just woudn't sit in side and eat your own food blatantly in there. When you go for a night out do you take your own drink and carry it with you all night? I sure bloody don't. Get hammered before I go out if am skint.

At the end of the day the cinema is a business and they need to protect their profit margins, by people taking in their own food they are loosing alot of money. If they allowed everyone to take in their own food they would quickly go out of business and people would get pissed off if their local multiplex closed down.

I am in no way suggesting you should buy from the concessions stanRAB every time you go as I know it's very expensive, it's handy for some of us who have a card which gives us 40% off and free films. But if you're hungry either eat before or after the film, you will save money then.

I agree some of the practices of the industry are bad, Cineworld is probably the worst company to work for, it treats it's staff so badly. When you see someone in there who looks around 18/19 spare a thought they get a lot of crap for only 5.20 an hour. Staff have to put up with a lot of angst from customers complaining about prices and service, most of it is beyond their control and down incompetent management.
 
There was a time cinema ushers used to sit in the whole performance of a film now they lounge around outside messing around and gossiping. They never ever tackle the noise either that some people end up in the cinema and just end up chatting thru the whole film:eek:
 
I don't mind subtitles, as long as they're done properly, ie always visible on a black border. It's when they superimpose the letters freestlye over the screen, you spend so much time trying to see what's been written that you miss the action on screen, and by then the titles have changed to the next set, so you're totally lost.
Useless.
If you're going to do subtitles, remember people have to be able to read them.
 
Normally, venue searches can only be carried out by licensed security staff - for the purpose of preventing drugs/weapons entering.


I would say that some spotty oik searching through your personal posessions to look for sweets is probably legally dubious and an infringement of your rights.

Bloody hell, look at all the debate about the stop and search powers of police! They need to prove cause if they want to search someone - and they are the police!
 
very lucky then and well done.....

the staff at my cineworld do hestitate when asking for the 3D charge to unlimited maybe they forget sometimes?:confused:
 
it the manner of how they did the search I am still complaining about not that food was taken from me. and I gladly gave it up. There no excuse for poor people skills. And making someone feel one inch tall with their protocol that went unenforced for two years.
 
They can refuse you admission if they want to as it's private premises. Therefore if you refuse to submit to a search they can refuse you.
 
I think you are misunderstading the difference between a private building which is open to the public and a publically-owned building.

If you open a privately owned building to the public for commerical enterprise, you are liable to certain government laws designed to protect the wellbeing of the public you are allowing on to your premises.

This doesn't change the fact that the building remains privately owned and the owners can refuse entry to anyone they wish, without any reason given. The only time this situation changes is when money is exchanged for services. Then the owner becomes bound to a contract and cannot refuse to serve you without just cause.

This also means that you are bound to the terms of whatver contract the owner puts in place. For instance, there is no way they can throw you out for taking food in if there are no well-placed signs stipulating that you can't bring food in. But if they do make this clear, they can happily eject you after you've paid because you've violated the terms of the contract.

The big question is whether or not the cinema is imposing unreasonable conditions into its contract. The law doesn't allow businesses to override acts of government by way of contractual terms. This is why you cannot sign away your statutory rights.

One side of the argument is that food and drink are not illegal substances and cannot be banned. The other side is that selling food and drink is a part of the establishment's described business and therefore you are unfairly using their facilities. Much like how you can't take your own food into a restaurant, because by doing so you are using their facilities, whilst not fairly exchanging with the proprietor.

It comes down to a simple statement of contract; you are allowed onto their premises on the sole agreement that you do business with the owners. Outside of that, entry is purely at the owner's discretion.

The only area of legal confusion would be whether it could be argued that the sale of refreshments is not a major aspect of the cinema's business. Being that they make the majority of their profits off food and drink and next-to-nothing on ticket sales, it could be a hard case to make.

In the end, the ONLY way to know is to take it to court. But then we'd all be arguing about the ridiculous rates that the solicitors are charging!!
 
elite files I hope you get an apology from the manager for the way in which the search was handled. You won't be able to argue the food and drink policy because most cinemas have this sign in (I don't ever recall seeing anything that says bag searches would be in place though - surely that should be stipulated somewhere by the cinema?)
However, confiscating a workbag during a film seems unnecessary when you were willing to hand the water over. I'm sure most people would be worried about the care and handling of their personal possessions, but especially work contents.

I'm sure most people have taken their own food/drink into a cinema in their time - I know I do it, but only because I don't want to eat/drink what the cinema is offering. That said, if their prices were more reasonable I might be more likely and encouraged to buy pick and mix or chocolate, maybe even the stale untasty popcorn if I was desperate.

As an aside I used to work in a cinema 15 years ago and we never searched anyone in my few years working.
 
Whoah, calm down man, it's just people's bags they might be looking in for big obvious food, not actual body searches for little tiny things like well hidden drugs.

I should imagine they can just say "can we look in your bag", if customer says no, then they say "ok well our you can't come any further in to our property then, here's your money back, bye" and that's the end of it.
 
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