in this case
- A customer buys tickets for a 1 p.m. show on StubHub, but the tickets that arrive are for the 7:30 p.m. performance.
- StubHub denies her refund, inventing an absurd rule that she should have called them from the theater before the show.
- The company ignores its own “FanProtect Guarantee” and hangs up on her, forcing her to seek help to get her money back.
Lori McBride buys StubHub tickets for a 1 p.m. show but discovers they’re for 7:30 p.m. StubHub denies her a refund because she didn’t immediately contact the company. But what about StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee?
Question
I bought two tickets on StubHub for the 1 p.m. showing of “Ain’t Too Proud” in San Francisco. My confirmation clearly stated the 1 p.m. showtime, but when I arrived, the tickets were for 7:30 p.m.
The theater couldn’t help and I could not reach StubHub before the show started. I had to buy last-minute seats at a higher price.
When I called, StubHub’s customer service repeatedly dismissed me, claiming I should’ve called *while at the theater,” even though there was no contact number on the tickets.
StubHub insists I’m not entitled to a refund, despite their “FanProtect Guarantee.” I emailed executives (using your contacts!) but heard nothing. The BBB shows StubHub has an “F” rating and thousands of unresolved complaints. How can a company ignore its own policies and customers so blatantly? Can you help me get my $168 back? — Lori McBride, Redwood City, Calif.
Your voice matters
StubHub sent this customer the wrong tickets and then invented a rule to deny her refund. It’s a classic case of a company guarantee failing when it matters most. We want to hear your take.
- Have you ever received the wrong tickets from a reseller like StubHub? What happened?
- Should customers be expected to contact customer service from a busy venue moments before a show?
- What’s the most ridiculous excuse a company has ever given you for not honoring its own guarantee?
Answer
StubHub shouldn’t be too proud to admit this: Honoring its FanProtect Guarantee, which promises valid tickets or a refund, is the right thing to do. By failing to deliver tickets for the correct showtime, it breached its own policy. StubHub might have also violated California law, which prohibits false advertising.
It’s particularly frustrating when I review the notes from your interactions with StubHub. A representative initially promised you a refund but then placed you on a brief hold, returned to the call and asked if you had contacted StubHub before the event. (Related: StubHub misled me about my $331 concert ticket refund. What should I do?)
After you explained that you could not contact StubHub because there was no information on how to do so on the ticket or confirmation email, the employee suggested you couldn’t get a refund because you hadn’t contacted StubHub before the curtain rose on the matinee performance.
I would not call Stub Hub’s refunding the purchase price plus a 25% credit for a future Stub Hub purchase a “very generous resolution”. Stub Hub owed Ms. McBride the purchase price and, based on the problems she had collecting it, it seems doubtful that she will use Stub Hub again, making the 25% credit useless. What would have been a generous resolution would have been for Stub Hub to reimburse Ms. McBride for the more expensive tickets she had to buy when Stub Hub sent her the wrong tickets.
Read more insightful reader feedback. See all comments.
I see no requirement in the FanProtect Guarantee to ask for help before an event begins. When you questioned the employee about this apparently unwritten policy and asked for her ID, she disconnected the call. Come on!
You did everything right by escalating to executives and keeping records. Always double-check tickets immediately after you buy them. Mistakes happen, and catching them early gives you more options.
I publish StubHub’s executive contacts on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. It looks like you reached out to the executives too, but they failed to address your problem. Seriously? I publish this information so that consumers with legitimate problems can get through to a decision-maker and potentially avoid an embarrassing story like this one.
I contacted StubHub on your behalf. The company reviewed your case and did not say why your tickets were for the wrong time. It issued a full refund plus a 25 percent credit for a future StubHub event, a very generous resolution.
What to do with a bad ticket
Your guide to fighting back when a reseller fails you
The first move
The escalation plan
Is StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee failing you?
When you get the wrong tickets and customer service hangs up on you, it’s time to escalate. We have the executive contacts to get your case reviewed by someone who will actually listen. Get the StubHub executive contacts
What you’re saying
You’re not buying StubHub’s “generous” offer. You agree with top commenter GradUT: a refund isn’t a resolution, it’s the bare minimum. You believe the company failed to honor its own guarantee and is now dodging accountability.
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StubHub should have paid for the new tickets
Readers like Peter M. Zollman and GradUT are clear: a “generous” resolution would have been reimbursing the customer for the more expensive tickets she was forced to buy. A 25% credit is “useless” when she’ll never trust StubHub again.
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StubHub violated its own guarantee
George Schulman did the research and quotes StubHub’s “FanProtect Guarantee,” which explicitly promises to “make it right with comparable or better tickets.” By only offering a refund, StubHub failed to honor its own advertised policy.
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It’s a pattern of dodging accountability
You see this as a classic “middleman” maneuver. The Brown Crusader says StubHub takes the profit but dodges accountability, while AJPeabody asks if the company is just “an automated scalper” with a scalper’s level of service.
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A dissenting voice
Only 737MAXPilot defends the company, arguing that managing ticket logistics is “chaos” and that a refund plus 25% is “frankly more than she deserved” for not double-checking the tickets.
