Complaint Review: StubHub

I started listing tickets on Stubhub in November of 2013 I believe.  I was immediately impressed with everyone I came in contact with on the phone; although I thought their pricing was high.  They charge the seller 15% of the sale and the buyer 10% plus shipping.

In January of 2014 I received my season tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR).  With the tickets in hand like I had done before I listed them for sale on StubHub.  If I received and order I shipped the same day or next like I had done before.

I thought I would order some tickets from Ticketmaster for the HLSR, not season tickets, regular.  When purchasing the tickets TicketMaster explained that shipment of tickets would be delayed until January 29th 2014. I exceeded the ticket purchasing limit of ten tickets per show per customer. 

I have ordered tickets through Ticketmaster on multiple occasions and often exceed the limits and thought it would be no problem.  Stubhub has an exponential amount listings on their site of 10 plus quantity so I thought it would be of course no problem.

As the January 29th date got closer I went to my Ticketmaster account to see if there was delivery progress information and noticed they changed the delivery date to February 7th.  I was getting nervous that I would not be able to sell the tickets before the HLSR actually started in March so I contacted StubHub about my concerns.

I work at the Better Business Bureau and all our calls are recorded.  Thank God.  When I called to speak to a StubHub representative about my concerns he told me that I could and should list my tickets for sale even though I did not have them in hand.

This idea was foreign to me.  How can I sell tickets I don't have?  He assured me to list the tickets. Before I started listing tickets for future delivery I thought I would reach out once more and confirm this.  I was advised to list the last possible drop down date available so that replacement tickets could be found.  I again told the representative that I went over the ticket limit and was nervous that Ticketmaster would cancel my order.  He assured me not to worry.

The representative said that the sellers that have problems were not delivering tickets as promised because they sold the tickets for a higher price and didn't want to honor the agreed sale.  He went on to say if Ticketmaster or the venue cancelled the tickets that would be something that would be out the sellers control and it would not be the sellers problem.

I immediately started listing tickets for sale with the future delivery date as far out as I could as advised by StubHub representatives on numerous occasions.  I started getting order confirmations via email as I always has stating to upload the etickets on or before the promised delivery date.

February 7th 2014 (The start of an ordeal that I know I have an ulcer over).  I login to download my tickets from Ticketmaster.  The delivery delay information is still there.  I call Ticketmaster to find out when the delay would be lifted.  They refer me to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo.  I call HLSR and they tell me all my orders are being cancelled due to exceeding the tickets limits.  Three phone calls later they agree it is in everyone's best interest to not cancel the season tickets since they are in other people's possession already.

I then call StubHub and am advised if there is a sale that cannot be executed by the seller just report the problem and the reason for failure to deliver.  I start the process of informing StubHub and get to the 6th order when I am locked out.  My username and passcode are not working.

I call StubHub and they inform me that it is probably something in my cookies or web browser and that I should close the browser down and maybe use a different browser.

I try that and I am still locked out.

I am writing this on 2/13/2014 and haven't slept more than an hour straight since the 7th so my details may be sketchy, but the important facts are here.  I call numerous supervisors who tell me that I must talk with their Trust and Safety Department (T&S).  They tell me they do not have extentions in that department and I must wait 48 hours for a call.

Meanwhile I am getting email after email saying that my credit card was being charged because of my error.  I frantically call numerous times and am told I have to wait, I am asked several times if I can prove it was TicketMaster who cancelled the orders.  This infuriates me because I have many more tickets to get rid of and I would have to be insane to cancel orders because of any other reason.

I finally get someone to take my call in T&S and he tells me he is not a supervisor, but he tries to pacify me by telling me that StubHub will always work with me and infers that if it is TM cancelling the orders I have no problem.  He emails his supervisor, but of course no response.  He assures me that his supervisor will get in at 3:00 on Sunday Feb 9 and he will call me first thing.

I call in at 3:30 and after the customary hour long wait on hold I get Justin Friedman who greets me by saying "You know it's illegal to record conversations without a callers consent"  I begin to tell him my nightmare.  He tells me of a recording that they have that is not the calls that I have inquired about listing tickets without them in hand.  I tell him of the approximate time and phone number they would be coming from and he agrees to call me at 7:00 that evening.

He says that liability was mine.  I demand to speak to his supervisor. After pushing all he will give me is a first name of Jason.  I tell him I want Jason to call me first thing in the morning on Monday. Of course no call so I call and leave him a message that I have the recordings and I await his call.

That evening I get a generic email fromT&S(no name attached) saying that libility was mine unless I could furnish the recordings.  Liars Poker if you will.

I send the recordeings.  I have yet to hear back from T@S.