By Christopher Elliot | Problem Solved
Q: I purchased a ticket from SeatGeek to a Remi Wolf concert. The listing on SeatGeek advertised Rachel Chinouriri as the opening act. I was excited to see Rachel Chinouriri perform, and that was the only reason I bought the ticket.
Turns out Rachel Chinouriri had dropped out of the lineup before I bought my ticket. SeatGeek never updated its website. I contacted the company and it offered me a $20 promo credit. I appealed and SeatGeek upped it to a promo code worth 100 percent of my ticket.
I don’t want a promo code. I want a refund. Can you help me get a full refund for the cost of the ticket? — Vanessa Wilkins, Los Angeles
A: I’m sorry you felt SeatGeek sold you a ticket under false pretenses. While lineup changes are often outside the control of ticket sellers, SeatGeek should have updated its website to reflect the change in the lineup. That way, you could have avoided buying a ticket to a performance that would never happen.
SeatGeek is a ticketing platform that connects buyers and sellers. But it is also responsible for publishing accurate information about its events. If it fails to do that, it is liable. And you can see that it is trying to make this right without giving away too much, as evidenced by the 30 percent offer and then the 100 percent offer. The last thing any company wants to do is return money to a customer, even when it should.
You did the right thing by contacting SeatGeek and explaining the situation. You also wisely documented your communications with the company. Keeping a paper trail can be helpful when trying to resolve these kinds of issues.
I think SeatGeek needs to review how it handles lineup changes. Clearly, its system failed you. If SeatGeek had updated its website in a timely manner, you wouldn’t have wasted your money on this ticket.
A brief, polite email to one of the executive contacts at SeatGeek might have turned that promo code into a real refund. I list the SeatGeek customer service managers on my consumer advocacy website, Elliott.org.
You were definitely on the right track. You followed the Elliott Method — you were patient, persistent and polite. But when I saw your case, I agreed to fast-track it.
I contacted SeatGeek on your behalf.
“While lineup changes are out of our control, we do understand the customer’s frustration,” a representative told me.
SeatGeek refunded your tickets.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (https://elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him at https://elliottadvocacy.org/help/