A basketball fan has criticised StubHub after he received worse seats than he originally purchased for a Phoenix Suns game. Ronnie bought tickets in Section 115, located in a lower bowl area. However, he received a message hours before the game stating his seats had been ‘upgraded’.
Upon checking the new tickets, Ronnie discovered they were actually in Section 225. He felt the replacement tickets should have been in the same section as his original purchase. He said he went from having really good lower bowl seats to not good seats.
StubHub’s Response to the Complaint
StubHub’s ‘FanProtect Guarantee’ states that buyers will receive replacement tickets or a full refund when a seller fails to fulfill an order. Ronnie felt like he was in a no-win situation. He was given the option of accepting the worse tickets or receiving a refund.
After Ronnie contacted a news outlet, the company issued a statement. A spokesperson said, ‘We sincerely apologize to Ronnie for the frustration and confusion this situation caused. What happened here fell short of the experience we strive to deliver, and we acknowledge that our communication should have been clearer.’
StubHub also stated, ‘We have since issued a full refund as a courtesy and apologized directly for the inconvenience… We take situations like this seriously and are committed to doing better.’
Customer’s Future Plans After Incident
Ronnie was glad to get his money back. The experience has changed how he plans to buy tickets in the future.
He said that he didn’t know StubHub operated as a ticket exchange, acting as an intermediary between sellers and buyers. He contrasted this with Ticketmaster, which he believes has the hard tickets readily available.
Ronnie said that moving forward, he would probably want to go directly to ticket sellers to ensure that he’s getting what he pays for.
Things to Know Before Using a Ticket Exchange
If you are considering using a ticket exchange platform like StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats or Gametime, here is what you should keep in mind:
- StubHub’s policy states that what qualifies as ‘comparable tickets’ is left to the company’s discretion.
The experience has made one man reconsider using ticket exchange platforms. He plans to buy tickets directly from sellers in the future.