StubHub Customer Stories
Event
Lucas Oil Stadium Event
Date
November 1, 2024
Amount Affected
$13K+
StubHub's Broken Promise: How Our Taylor Swift Dream Became a $17,000 Nightmare
The Setup
Every night for 2 years our 5-year-old daughter asked to watch Taylor Swift videos. Taylor Swift was the theme of her birthday party, and she's one of the only artists our daughter listens to. This wasn't just us spoiling our daughter - she truly has a passion for Taylor and looks up to her as a role model.
Having already been burned by StubHub during my wife's attempt to see Taylor in Atlanta in 2023, we were determined to do everything "right" this time. In Atlanta, StubHub failed to deliver promised tickets and only offered a refund when prices had quadrupled. After that Atlanta disaster, where we had to fight tooth and nail just to get replacement tickets the day of the show, we specifically chose StubHub's "Instant Download" tickets for the November show, marketed as their highest verification level. We paid $13,000 for three tickets to the November 1, 2024 show at Lucas Oil Stadium - the final U.S. stop of the tour. We trusted StubHub's "FanProtect Guarantee," believing that paying significantly more for instant download tickets would prevent another nightmare scenario. We had no idea they were selling tickets that literally could not be transferred from the Ticketmaster verified fan account where they originated.
The Hidden Costs
Beyond the tickets, we invested thousands more - flights to Indianapolis, rental car, hotel stay, and childcare for our two-year-old back home. We took time off work and planned meticulously. All told, we committed nearly $17,000 to make this dream come true.
Red Flags We Missed
StubHub never disclosed that our tickets came through SecureMyPass.com, a shadowy broker site. What we received looked like legitimate Ticketmaster passes, but they were actually streamed from someone else's Verified Fan account - like using a screenshot of a Netflix show instead of having a real subscription.The Moment Everything Fell Apart
Thirty minutes after entering the stadium with successfully scanned tickets, security approached us. Another group had valid tickets for our same seats. Despite our StubHub confirmation, officials verified the other party's Ticketmaster passes were legitimate and ordered us to leave the premises immediately. My five-year-old burst into tears as her year-long dream crumbled.
StubHub's Empty Promises
StubHub's response only made things worse. Their customer service repeatedly promised supervisor callbacks that never came. They claimed no replacement tickets were available, even though I could see available seats right on their app. They completely abandoned us with no solution, leaving all our carefully made plans and expenses wasted.The Battle for a Refund
When we filed a BBB complaint, StubHub accused us of lying. We spent three exhausting weeks:
Making endless phone calls
Sending countless emails
Filing formal complaints with the FBI, FTC, and state attorneys general
Finally, they refunded the ticket cost. But they never explained the SecureMyPass.com connection or addressed our thousands in lost travel expenses.