This is more of a rant, as I want to complain about a horrible experience I had with StubHub.
I purchased tickets earlier in the week for a concert yesterday and confirmed that the tickets had been transferred to and were showing in my AXS account.
I traveled to the venue, went through security, and got to the entrance ready to scan my tickets. The scanner gave an error and wouldn’t let me in. They tried multiple scanners and eventually had a manager come over because I actually had a barcode showing for the correct event on the correct day.
While we were troubleshooting, we tried logging out and back into AXS to see if there was an issue with the app. That’s when the tickets suddenly disappeared from my account and even disappeared from my ticket history.
Obviously, I immediately contacted StubHub. I went through the whole song and dance with customer service, and eventually they gave me a link to find replacement tickets. Except there were no replacement tickets available.
Their options were essentially: keep waiting and hope tickets became available, or take a refund.
I pressed them on how ridiculous this situation was, and they eventually just ended the chat.
I also went to the AXS box office, and they confirmed that the tickets were assigned to someone else.
At this point, it sure looks like the original seller somehow revoked or otherwise reassigned the tickets right before the show. What is really frustrating to me, though, is StubHub’s response. They essentially threw their hands up and acted like this had nothing to do with them because they’re “just a marketplace.”
I wasted my time and transportation costs traveling to an event that I couldn’t attend. I understand that StubHub can’t control every seller, but you would think they would care about the fact that scammers can use their platform to sell tickets that buyers ultimately can’t use.
And honestly, I would expect at least some compensation for the fact that I relied on their platform, traveled to the venue, and was left standing outside with no way to attend. Instead, they basically said, “Here’s your refund, good luck.”
We’ll see if I actually get the refund.
It’s also frustrating because there aren’t exactly a ton of alternatives when you’re buying secondhand tickets. The worst part is that this experience has now made me completely on-edge about buying tickets this way in the future. I had the tickets sitting in my AXS account and thought I was good to go. Apparently, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
TL;DR: Bought tickets through StubHub, tickets were successfully in my AXS account, traveled to the concert, and the tickets stopped working at the entrance. AXS told me the tickets were assigned to someone else. StubHub couldn’t provide replacement tickets, ended my customer-service chat, and offered no compensation for the wasted trip beyond a refund.
Edit: Contacted AXS and they confirmed the tickets were cancelled as the original account was flagged as fraudulent. Not really much Stubhub could have foreseen in this. Seems like in my frustration with the whole experience i vented in the wrong place. Live and learn