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Ticketmaster Complaint - Purchasing Tickets Online - Ticketmaster Online Service
Ticketmaster Online Service - Complaint
CALIFORNIA -- I am an avid concert goer. I purchase tickets for up to 20 events a year. I am also a computer owner with an internet account. So, when Ticketmaster opened their online ticket service, I was excited about the possibility of not having to fight the phone lines or wait in line to purchase my tickets, I could do it all from my home. Well, that was until two weeks ago when I attempted to purchase tickets through their internet presale arrangement.
I had had problems trying to get tickets through their online service before. The usual things, server too busy, cannot process order, etc. But, this time, I actually got to the page where the tickets have been reserved and you have 5 minutes, or so the page says, to complete the transaction. The problem is, I was never able to complete the transaction. Their online servers lost my connection, so I lost my tickets. This happened twice within 10 minutes of each other. The fact that I was on a computer that had a T1 line (this is a very very fast internet connnection, much faster than DSL), did not seem to make any difference.
After my experience, I contacted Ticketmaster, to see if I could get some assistance. After being shuffled back and forth from phone centers in Orlando and California, and being put on hold for over an hour and a half, I finally got in touch with a Customer Service Manager. I explained what had happened and her answer was, "Sorry, there is nothing we can do."
So, I took the matter all the way to the CEO. He never returned my call.
Needless to say, I would warn anyone and everyone from Ticketmaster's Online service if your intent is to get good seating for a show that you expect to sell out quickly, or if you have a internet connection speed that is lower than DSL. I would also warn you from trying to get any decent customer service from them if you have any problems. They are completely inept from top to bottom. It is no wonder that their stock price is in the pits.
I had had problems trying to get tickets through their online service before. The usual things, server too busy, cannot process order, etc. But, this time, I actually got to the page where the tickets have been reserved and you have 5 minutes, or so the page says, to complete the transaction. The problem is, I was never able to complete the transaction. Their online servers lost my connection, so I lost my tickets. This happened twice within 10 minutes of each other. The fact that I was on a computer that had a T1 line (this is a very very fast internet connnection, much faster than DSL), did not seem to make any difference.
After my experience, I contacted Ticketmaster, to see if I could get some assistance. After being shuffled back and forth from phone centers in Orlando and California, and being put on hold for over an hour and a half, I finally got in touch with a Customer Service Manager. I explained what had happened and her answer was, "Sorry, there is nothing we can do."
So, I took the matter all the way to the CEO. He never returned my call.
Needless to say, I would warn anyone and everyone from Ticketmaster's Online service if your intent is to get good seating for a show that you expect to sell out quickly, or if you have a internet connection speed that is lower than DSL. I would also warn you from trying to get any decent customer service from them if you have any problems. They are completely inept from top to bottom. It is no wonder that their stock price is in the pits.
Comments:
Posted by Anonymous on 2001-05-12:
I am very unhappy with the service I have recieved from TicketMaster.
I purchased tickets for the MXPX concert in Phildelphia for 2 pm, May 13th
I used the automated phone ordering service.
First, I requested the tickets to be mailed to me, regular mail.
When I had not recieved them, 3 days before the concert, I called customer service.
I was informed that the tickets had not been mailed out yet, and that
I would have to pick them up at the box office. I gave my daughter's
name, since she would be the one to pick up the tickets, although
I had paid for them with my credit card.
I then went to the web site, to print out a copy of the information
so she would have a "hard copy" of the information to take with her.
It is then that I discover that the ticket says it is for the 8:00 PM show
not the 2:00 pm, I had requested. I NEVER asked for the 8:00 show.
After listening to a busy signal for 2 hours, trying to reach the customer
service department, the person I spoke to told me that my tickets
had indeed been mailed out, and that a lost ticket voucher had been
made. That there was nothing she could do to change the time,
even though there were still tickets for the 2:00 show available.
She repeated over and over that the automated system verifies the time
of the concert 3 times. YES, and 3 times I verified it was the 2:00 show I was buying.
I then spoke to the supervisor, "Doug" and he gave me the same line.
Both insinuating that it was ME who made the error and not their system.
This is totally unacceptable. I am not the one who made the error, they did.
It is their responsibility to correct the mistake. The only answer they could
give me was to purchase tickets for the 2:00 show, thus paying DOUBLE for the 3 tickets.
Not an option.
I am very sorry that their employees will not make the effort to
make their customers satified, instead of vertually calling me a liar!
Never again, TicketMaster!!!
I purchased tickets for the MXPX concert in Phildelphia for 2 pm, May 13th
I used the automated phone ordering service.
First, I requested the tickets to be mailed to me, regular mail.
When I had not recieved them, 3 days before the concert, I called customer service.
I was informed that the tickets had not been mailed out yet, and that
I would have to pick them up at the box office. I gave my daughter's
name, since she would be the one to pick up the tickets, although
I had paid for them with my credit card.
I then went to the web site, to print out a copy of the information
so she would have a "hard copy" of the information to take with her.
It is then that I discover that the ticket says it is for the 8:00 PM show
not the 2:00 pm, I had requested. I NEVER asked for the 8:00 show.
After listening to a busy signal for 2 hours, trying to reach the customer
service department, the person I spoke to told me that my tickets
had indeed been mailed out, and that a lost ticket voucher had been
made. That there was nothing she could do to change the time,
even though there were still tickets for the 2:00 show available.
She repeated over and over that the automated system verifies the time
of the concert 3 times. YES, and 3 times I verified it was the 2:00 show I was buying.
I then spoke to the supervisor, "Doug" and he gave me the same line.
Both insinuating that it was ME who made the error and not their system.
This is totally unacceptable. I am not the one who made the error, they did.
It is their responsibility to correct the mistake. The only answer they could
give me was to purchase tickets for the 2:00 show, thus paying DOUBLE for the 3 tickets.
Not an option.
I am very sorry that their employees will not make the effort to
make their customers satified, instead of vertually calling me a liar!
Never again, TicketMaster!!!
Posted by Anonymous on 2002-03-10:
I have also had problems with ticketmaster. My son purchased online tickets for a concert. He was taking his grandfather to see Buddy Guy. He came down with the flu and had a fever of 101. I called ticketmaster and asked if Grandpa could pickup his own ticket and go since my son was ill.
The first person was nice enough and said no, but that I could talk to her supervisor.Then she put us on hold while she found her suprvisor.After 45 minutes on hold someone came on and said only a person with the same last name as my son could pick up the tickets with ID. I asked if I could give her my Dad's license # and then he could pick it up.
The answer was sorry no & no refund either if they didn't go.
So my sick son had to go and in the process contaminate an entire audience plus his 71 year old Grandpa.
Ticketmaster could care less about the consumer. They have every venue in our area under their thumb.
Remember when Pearl Jam tried to stand up to them and only play small venues?
Maybe we should take a lesson from them and only support non ticketmaster venues if there is any such thing.
Can you say MONOPOLY?
The first person was nice enough and said no, but that I could talk to her supervisor.Then she put us on hold while she found her suprvisor.After 45 minutes on hold someone came on and said only a person with the same last name as my son could pick up the tickets with ID. I asked if I could give her my Dad's license # and then he could pick it up.
The answer was sorry no & no refund either if they didn't go.
So my sick son had to go and in the process contaminate an entire audience plus his 71 year old Grandpa.
Ticketmaster could care less about the consumer. They have every venue in our area under their thumb.
Remember when Pearl Jam tried to stand up to them and only play small venues?
Maybe we should take a lesson from them and only support non ticketmaster venues if there is any such thing.
Can you say MONOPOLY?
Posted by bttrcup9 on 2008-04-29:
My husband and I purchased tickets for a Toby Keith concert and requested they be mailed to our home. The tickets never came and we ended up missing the concert. When I called Ticketmaster to find out where the tickets were, they told us that we should have gone and picked them up from the will call. I don't think so. We bought those tickets 6 weeks in advance and they had PLENTY of time to mail them. Had we actually received the tickets, the day of the concert would not have gone by. They would not issue a refund. We ended up disputing the charge with MasterCard and the credit card company issued us a credit. We are not at all happy with TicketMaster.
Posted by Helix on 2009-01-18:
Well I got ripped off by Entertainment Rewards because of filling out a stupid survey through Ticketmaster! I am quite doubtful that Ticketmaster shares our payment information with third parties
Posted by Anonymous on 2009-09-15:
Personally, I use either online printing or will call. Mailed tickets can get lost in transit and no you do not get a refund. If your tickets were not there 48 hours before the show, you should have called.
Posted by viwalker on 2010-06-10:
I am disgusted with the methods the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, LiveNation, and Ticket Master are using to deceive customers to make an extra buck.
Virginia Beach Amphitheater concerts are advertised on the Virginia Beach Amphitheater webpages on the LiveNation website and their tickets are sold through Ticket Master. I clicked on a link from the Virginia Beach Amphitheater's page on the LiveNation website. The link was highlighted by the offer for "Pre-Sale Concert Tickets and Concert Deals" for Fans of LiveNation. I wanted to see what offers were available for fans of LiveNation as I have received emails for several years now and have remained a faithful fan of their concerts. I selected the link to see what specials were offered.
The next page showed a Kings of Leon Concert picture with buy tickets highlighted. I clicked on the picture to buy tickets to this concert. I was brought to the Kings of Leon Concert page.
The first choice for tickets on the Kings of Leon concert page is "General Tickets with Fast Pass". I chose this option believing I would be purchasing General admission tickets with a fast pass (Although I had no idea what fast pass was but thinking it was part of a deal for fans.). On the next page I am greeted with the familiar search for tickets option. Under the search for tickets "Full Price Tickets" is shown. I chose to add 4 Full Price tickets at "Any Price". When I submit my request for 4 tickets, the next page shows: "Section: Gen Adm, Price Level 1, and General Admission Ticket, Type: Full Price Ticket". I select to accept this order. I paid for the ticket order on the next page.
After purchasing the tickets, I received the tickets by email. I went to check them for accuracy. When I opened the tickets and began reading I found printed on these "tickets" is a message that these are NOT concert tickets. They are not general admission tickets.
Instead they are special passes. Basically, they are a voucher to skip the line at a concert and a customer must purchase General admission tickets to go along with these.
There was nothing that was obvious that would have told me that this was not a ticket for the concert.
I emailed the customer service department immediately and asked for assistance. After not hearing anything for two days, I called the customer service number.
When I called the customer service number, I was told that was one place on one of the webpages that would give customers a hint that these were not General Admission tickets although everything else a customer sees on the webpages state "General Admission". The customer service representative said that the one place can see that these are not general admission concert tickets is under a "see more" option on one of the pages to read the "fine print" and at the very bottom of the fine print, the very last thing, it says is "This is not a concert ticket". No where else did it say this. Yet everywhere else it shows a General Admission ticket title.
This is extremely deceptive and I explained this to the customer representative. I asked the representative for a refund because I was not going to use these passes as I thought they were tickets. He said there were no refunds.
The customer service representative forwarded me to a customer service manager who said that there are no refunds.
In addition, she stated that customers must select every link and read everything and it is up to the customer to be sure that they are not being deceived by LiveNation and Ticket Master. She went on the say that the Ticket Master website says "General Admission" Tickets on each page, next to each item the customer sees it, to help Ticket Master have an accurate head count. That is crazy. When completing a head count you count how many people purchased the items. What is stated on a website is for customers to view. This is a very deceptive practice and The Virgina Beach Amphitheater, Live Nation, and Ticket Master are making money off of knowingly deceiving customers.
Virginia Beach Amphitheater concerts are advertised on the Virginia Beach Amphitheater webpages on the LiveNation website and their tickets are sold through Ticket Master. I clicked on a link from the Virginia Beach Amphitheater's page on the LiveNation website. The link was highlighted by the offer for "Pre-Sale Concert Tickets and Concert Deals" for Fans of LiveNation. I wanted to see what offers were available for fans of LiveNation as I have received emails for several years now and have remained a faithful fan of their concerts. I selected the link to see what specials were offered.
The next page showed a Kings of Leon Concert picture with buy tickets highlighted. I clicked on the picture to buy tickets to this concert. I was brought to the Kings of Leon Concert page.
The first choice for tickets on the Kings of Leon concert page is "General Tickets with Fast Pass". I chose this option believing I would be purchasing General admission tickets with a fast pass (Although I had no idea what fast pass was but thinking it was part of a deal for fans.). On the next page I am greeted with the familiar search for tickets option. Under the search for tickets "Full Price Tickets" is shown. I chose to add 4 Full Price tickets at "Any Price". When I submit my request for 4 tickets, the next page shows: "Section: Gen Adm, Price Level 1, and General Admission Ticket, Type: Full Price Ticket". I select to accept this order. I paid for the ticket order on the next page.
After purchasing the tickets, I received the tickets by email. I went to check them for accuracy. When I opened the tickets and began reading I found printed on these "tickets" is a message that these are NOT concert tickets. They are not general admission tickets.
Instead they are special passes. Basically, they are a voucher to skip the line at a concert and a customer must purchase General admission tickets to go along with these.
There was nothing that was obvious that would have told me that this was not a ticket for the concert.
I emailed the customer service department immediately and asked for assistance. After not hearing anything for two days, I called the customer service number.
When I called the customer service number, I was told that was one place on one of the webpages that would give customers a hint that these were not General Admission tickets although everything else a customer sees on the webpages state "General Admission". The customer service representative said that the one place can see that these are not general admission concert tickets is under a "see more" option on one of the pages to read the "fine print" and at the very bottom of the fine print, the very last thing, it says is "This is not a concert ticket". No where else did it say this. Yet everywhere else it shows a General Admission ticket title.
This is extremely deceptive and I explained this to the customer representative. I asked the representative for a refund because I was not going to use these passes as I thought they were tickets. He said there were no refunds.
The customer service representative forwarded me to a customer service manager who said that there are no refunds.
In addition, she stated that customers must select every link and read everything and it is up to the customer to be sure that they are not being deceived by LiveNation and Ticket Master. She went on the say that the Ticket Master website says "General Admission" Tickets on each page, next to each item the customer sees it, to help Ticket Master have an accurate head count. That is crazy. When completing a head count you count how many people purchased the items. What is stated on a website is for customers to view. This is a very deceptive practice and The Virgina Beach Amphitheater, Live Nation, and Ticket Master are making money off of knowingly deceiving customers.
Posted by Anonymous on 2010-06-10:
I had no problems with getting my tickets mailed to me in time. I paid the extra $18 or so to have them mailed within 72-hrs. UPS had them at my door in 48-hrs. I used the UPS on-line package tracking system to follow them and ensure they arrived on time. No problems on my part. I wish you all better luck the next time around!
Posted by RGA on 2013-04-12:
Two separate attempts to purchase les Mis tickets online stalled by corrupt / frozen web page while insolently displaying "working on your order, do not leave page.........".
Attempt to access "contact us" equally circular and frustrating. Recommend to anyone they avoid purchasing though Ticketmaster.
Attempt to access "contact us" equally circular and frustrating. Recommend to anyone they avoid purchasing though Ticketmaster.
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