Re cineworld : IS THIS LEGAL

E

Elaine Q

New member
Went to watch a film straight after work the other day and took into cinema my work bag. Imagine my horror when they subjetced to to a humilating, invasion of my privacy of a search of my bag and having to explain the contents. They then impounded my water made me feel 1 inch tall:o and murmed aobut change in rules. they were sniggering when I asked for my bag backa t the end of the film

There is a sign saying no food and drink or bags but they have flouted it themsleves for two years now. I always have my work bag with me.

I am fuming and felt like a criminal:mad: in the absence of a sign saying they could search me is this legal and what can I do about it. what if I was a diabetic and needed to cake a cake in and I dotn want people knowing if I am a diabetic. What if I had 20 packets of condoms in my bag ( i didnt by the way):D


And as for food and drink I dont like popcorn, they dont do vegetarain hot dogs their coffee is always cold why should I pay 1.85 for a bottle of their water when the RRP is 99p?:confused:


can someone help I have been very distressed in the shoddy way I have been treated, I do have a unlimited card. The manager is calling me today.

Also I rang their information line it was 6 minutes before I was given the option to talk to a operator and log a complaint. Thats a overcharge in it self.:mad:
 
Yes it is.

First off we are far to paranoid in this country about terrorism and they will be checking for bombs, or other weopons

Second you will find that in most places that serve food and drinks stipulate that you cannot consume your own drinks

Third you might pay for the privilage to enter but you are still their guest and they have by and large every right to stipulate rules before you enter
 
Let's see.

You say the cinema is not a place to eat and drink (ie. its not their business). It is a place to watch films (this is what their business is there for). Then you complain they don't let you take food and drink in.

If the cinema is not there for consuming food and drink, then you cannot complain that you're not allowed to take fod in.

HOWEVER... if consuming food and drink is something that is a part of the experience of going to the cinema then it's a part of their business and they have every right to tell you to consume their products on their premises.

Nope, I don't see how ridiculous it looks. In fact, your continued insistence that it is a simple and obvious fact that food and drink are not integral parts of a cinema's business and that you should have the right to take what you want in there - in spite of the facts to the contrary - is the only thing that looks ridiculous to me.

EDIT: Please also note that I have simply argued that they have a case to this point and not that it is definitively right. Its definitely something that would require experienced legal eyes to determine. But that definitely means that any "its clearly wrong" statements are wrong themselves. Unless you happen to be a judge setting a precident on a case about this issue.
 
oh god revenge is all mine my cineworld unlimited card expired and it still valid I have been going frre for three weeks now and sohuld I tell them for searching my bag in dec 2008 I think not:cool::):cool::):cool::)


I really protested as i went to pay today but they wer ehave none of it so I am free, what would other people do keep stom or say something?
 
I agree with Helbore's summary of the law on this, it's spot-on.

However, I think there are some "special circumstances" around this issue:-
  1. Cinemas are not restaurants (and the primary purpose of visiting is not to eat & drink). I don't think it's fair (and could therefore be subject to legal challenge) to ban food & drink from outside, especially when the prices are clearly inflated. Markup comparison - pick & mix is about 4x the price of bags of sweets from the supermarket (and about 10x the wholesale price).
  2. Depending on the layout of your cinema, it might be possible to buy duplicate branded gooRAB from elsewhere - e.g. bottles of Coke, Sprite, Oasis, bags of Maltesers, M&Ms, etc. and just pretend that they were bought on-site. Even if the layout doesn't allow it to be done discretely, I think they'd have a hard time justifying the confiscation of items identical to those that they sell themselves.
  3. It is the Cinemas themselves that have adopted this principle of using inflated refreshment prices to keep their businesses afloat. I can quite see
 
I don't know what other clubs do but my bag has only been searched on a regular basis since 7/7 happened. Some pubs will do a search before allowing entry too.....:)
 
I want no sympathy and I am not getting worked up for the milllionth time., it nice to have a debate and get a answer. there are a million of consumer complaints yearly this one is not any different regardless of the world problems.

And it is not as trivial as people think either. but for the record books I am sleeping quite well at night:)
 
Sometimes you can get searched before entering Pubs or Clubs and they don't need to tell you why but I think it's quite obvious, as it is with Football matches and the same with Cinema's and Airports and it can be totally random too.
 
I don't know how Cineworld are doing, but apparently cinemas on the whole have had a really good first 6 months of 2009 with attendences going up.....
 
This had nothing whatsoever to do with licensing, what issues could possibly affect it? It is a concession administered by the CEA. No other cinema has an issue with the card for kiRAB' club movies.
 
They don't have to tell you anything. If you don't want to be searched, you can walk out. The fact that you had food and drink in your bag, when you knew it was against the rules, means you were in the wrong, this is the reason you were embarrassed and upset, you got caught out. Whether they caught you before or not, means nothing, they were merely enforcing the rules you already knew about.

As for being "upset" by it all, maybe you should just not go out in future, the world is a cruel place.
 
I used to just go the the Big W across the road, buy a large tub of pic n mix, a couple bottles of coke and then I would buy popcorn in the cinema. Didn't even consider that I wasn't supposed to. lol
 
Ughh! I don't envy you at all.

When I worked there, I HATED cleaning screens. The amount of crap that people left of the floor was annoying. I remember one day, I had to clean the biggest screen that had just shown 'Cats & Dogs' on a Saturday afternoon - and the entire place was annihilated with popcorn everywhere... :eek:
 
I've seen it once.... they checked someone's bag in front of me and made them look like a criminal too, I would've walked out if it was me.

Good job they didn't check my coat pockets, which were overflowing with pick and mix from Woolies. :D
 
I have never seen this printed on a receipt. In fact I am looking a Tesco receipt right now and nowhere on the piece of paper does it say subject to standard T&Cs. In fact, it doesn't make any reference to terms and conditions anywhere on the receipt. I can't say I have ever seen it on any receipt from any store either, anywhere. There is no such thing as "standard" terms to anything. All sellers are different and they have their own terms of business.

The reason we are suddenly picking on Cineworld (although this is not sudden, this thread has been running for some months), is that the thread is about Cineworld. We could hardly be writing about Debenhams or Budgens on a thread about Cineworld; that would be a bit silly.
 
Ive only read the first and last few posts as I do not have time to read them all so apologies if I repeat anything thats already been posted.

1. If a cinema demanded to search me the answer that they would recieve is unprintable and quite aggressive (and yes I would be willing to walk!!)

2. I would not consider a bottle of water as being a troublemaker (not really worthy of an ASBO anyway!)

3. Well done to the original OP for taking a stand against bully boy tactics, for those who think that Cineworld was correct in their actions remove the chip off your shoulders. The cinemas make a fortune from selling overpriced gooRAB, yes it is the only way for them to make a (very) healthy profit but you cant help feel that sometimes they take the p***! In some cases they charge double the normal cost (even though at RRP there is still profit to be made)

I for one will admit to taking food (not drink) into the cinema because for a typical family of 4 the cost of a night at the flics can be as much as
 
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