Massachusetts woman says StubHub never sent World Cup tickets, costing her nearly $4,000
Fans from around the globe have been enjoying the World Cup in Foxboro, Massachusetts. But the ticketing process has not been smooth for everyone.
April Campbell's son Jack dreamed of seeing a World Cup match. When the single mother saw that Scotland would play Haiti in Foxboro, she knew it was the perfect opportunity because of her son's love for Scotland following a school trip.
She purchased two tickets – one for her son and a friend – back in January, for a total of $1,438 on StubHub.
"I mean, $400 in fees for two tickets that were $700 a piece is ridiculous," she said.
What's more ridiculous, she said, is that she never received the tickets.
World Cup ticket issues
The Monday before the June 13 game, Campbell said she got an email that her tickets were ready. But when she went to the page to receive the ticket transfer, it read, "No tickets currently available for transfer or resale."
Campbell showed WBZ-TV the dozens of emails back and forth with StubHub over the course of six days. Plus, she said she spent hours on the phone.
"I would rather be getting the same tickets released to me, equivalent tickets, or better tickets," she said.
Eventually, game day came, and Campbell drove her son and his friend to Foxboro, still believing the ticket issue would be handled before kickoff. Yet as she and the teenagers waited in the security line minutes before the game, she says StubHub informed her that she could get a refund, and the tickets were gone.
"And I said 'I don't want a refund. I want tickets for the two 16-year-olds who have been expecting to go to this game since January,'" Campbell said.
At that moment, Campbell logged onto the FIFA app and purchased two new tickets for more than $2,000. At this point, she's out nearly $4,000. She's waiting on a refund from StubHub that is yet to come and frustrated she had to spend so much to get her son through the door.
"I want my money back," she said. "And I want them to pay the difference between what I would've had to pay and what I did end up paying. Because that's crazy."
In a statement, StubHub said the issue is with FIFA.
"Many of the issues fans are facing trace back to the event organizer's technology infrastructure, newly-announced transfer restrictions, and a new app that was launched just a month ago ahead of such a major event," the statement reads. "Regardless of the cause, when sellers don't deliver tickets on time, StubHub investigates and takes swift action in line with our terms & conditions, including permanent bans and financial penalties. Every order on StubHub is backed by our FanProtect Guarantee, which provides alternative tickets or a full refund."
Noah Kahan Act targets price gouging
Price gouging is the current target of State Sen. Dylan Fernandes, who recently proposed a bill entitled "An Act to Make Noah Kahan Tickets Affordable for the Rest of Us," a nod to the expensive tickets to see the singer at Fenway Park in July.
Fernandes' bill would cap resale prices at 10% over the cost of the original ticket for any event in Massachusetts.
"We've had this thing happen, called, really, funflation in our country, where fun activities that used to be quite affordable for you and me, middle-class, working-class people, are now exorbitantly expensive," Fernandes told WBZ-TV.
April Campbell would welcome the cap, though it wouldn't get her back the extra money she spent on a second set of tickets. She's hopeful shedding light on her situation would ensure it doesn't happen to another consumer.
