When Valeria Villacorta’s BTS concert is canceled, she runs into trouble with Ticketmaster. Although the company promised her a prompt refund, it has refused to pay her $654 back for three years.
Question
I had tickets to see BTS, but the show was canceled during the pandemic. Since then, I have been going back and forth with Ticketmaster and Bank of America trying to receive my refund.
Here’s the problem: I had to cancel the debit card that I used to pay for the tickets because I had lost it. Ticketmaster said there should be no issue with receiving my refund since it was still the same account number.
In 2021, when I should have received the refund, I waited one month before I filed a dispute with Bank of America. The bank denied it since it fell outside the 60-day timeframe for filing chargebacks.
I have been in contact with both Ticketmaster and Bank of America for many months, but nothing has been resolved. The only thing Ticketmaster has given as proof that they sent the refund was a reference number. Anytime I have given this number to Bank of America they tell me that doesn’t mean anything.
I have tried so many times for years and nothing has been resolved. I am hoping you can help me get my money back. — Valeria Villacorta, Glen Burnie, Md.
Answer
I’m sorry you missed the BTS concert — I heard they put on a great show. But during the pandemic, they didn’t get permission to dance, so it made sense to cancel their shows.
You’re right: the problem was your debit card. Ticketmaster’s policy is to refund your ticket to the original form of payment, and when you changed your card, it was no longer the original form of payment. So the refund got stuck. (Related: No accessible seats at my Springsteen concert. Can I get a refund?)
But you also made another error when you filed a dispute with your bank, and it wasn’t an issue with the 60-day rule. Unfortunately, your bank misinformed you about your debit card. The Fair Credit Billing Act, the law that allows you to dispute a charge, only applies to credit cards. I have details on the rules and regulations in my complete guide to a credit card dispute.
If you had purchased your ticket with a credit card, would that have changed the equation? Maybe, maybe not.
If, as your bank said, you were outside the 90-day window, your bank may have still accepted your dispute. But wires could have still gotten crossed with Ticketmaster, and there is no guarantee that would have worked. You’re better off going directly to Ticketmaster and making arrangements to have it send you the money.
Is it possible to dispute a debit card charge?
If you spot a suspicious charge on your debit card statement, you can get some relief. It’s more challenging than disputing a credit card charge, but not impossible. Your rights are outlined in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), a 1978 law that protects consumers from unauthorized electronic transfers:
- Act fast. Report unauthorized charges to your bank within two business days to limit your liability to $50. If you report the problem from 3 to 60 days after your statement, you could be liable for up to $500. Anything after that, you may be on the hook for everything. (Related: Hey Ticketmaster, where’s the refund for my David Foster concert tickets?)
- Put it in writing. Follow up your verbal report with a written dispute letter to your bank. (Related: I couldn’t see P!nk because of a foul-ball net. Can I get a refund from Ticketmaster?)
- Keep records. Document all communications with your bank and retain copies of relevant statements.
- Be persistent. Banks have up to 10 business days to investigate (or up to 45 in some cases).
The EFTA isn’t your only protection against a fraudulent transaction. Many banks offer more generous protections than the law requires, often matching their credit card policies. But don’t count on it. Check your bank’s specific policies.
If your dispute isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, you’ve got options. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or your state’s attorney general’s office. For larger amounts, consider consulting a lawyer.
Can you get a refund for your canceled BTS concert?
Ticketmaster can bend its own rule about crediting the original form of payment, so it could have bypassed your bank entirely. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the Ticketmaster executives on this site. (And by the way, this isn’t the first Ticketmaster case involving BTS. I wonder how many more readers are out there, thinking, “Save me!”)
I contacted Ticketmaster on your behalf. It reviewed your refund case, which should have been resolved more than three years ago, and it quickly refunded you $654, the full price of your BTS tickets. As BTS might say, that’s dynamite.
