CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Kevin Rhoad, who lives in West Ashley, has been battling online ticket reseller, Tickets-Center.com, for a year after he says the company refused to give him a refund.
Rhoads purchased two tickets to a Cher concert at the North Charleston Coliseum scheduled for March 2020, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Per Tickets-Center.com’s policy, shown below, customers should be offered a credit equal to the amount of a customer’s original payment amount, should an event be cancelled or postponed.
All sales are final. Postponed or rescheduled events will not be refunded. Vendor, in its sole discretion, will determine when an event is canceled. If your event is canceled, you will be sent notice of the cancellation. If you return your tickets within 14 days after our notice was sent that the event is canceled, we will provide you with a credit for the purchase price (inclusive of the ticket price, service charges and delivery fees paid by you) for use on a future purchase (except we may, in our sole discretion and in lieu of a credit, choose to provide you with a cash refund of this amount). No credit or cash refund will be made unless you return your tickets within 14 days after our notice was sent that the event is canceled.
Tickets-Center.com
The ticket reseller has over 4,000 complaints through the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Many of the complainants are people in a similar situation to Rhoad.
“I did read the terms, but I don’t recall ever seeing that they would make you get a coupon in lieu of a show especially if something was cancelled due to something that’s beyond everybody’s control,” said Rhoad. “That’s all I’m asking. Is just a refund for the tickets. I don’t want anything else.”
After sending several emails to Tickets-Center.com’s support team over the last year, Rhoad did not make any progress, so he contacted News 2.
We reached out to Tickets-Center.com and were able to resolve the issue. Rhoad has now been issued a full refund. Below is their full response:
We are currently looking into the order for Kevin Rhoad. If this order was placed through tickets-center.com (we are just a marketing company for a network of ticket sellers) we will process a full refund. I will update you when that happens. Thank you for reaching out and helping us resolve this issue.
Tickets-Center.com
Tickets-Center.com has since notified News 2 that the refund has been processed and Kevin Rhoad has been made aware.
While this is positive news for Rhoad, many other customers will not be receiving a refund. We reached out to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to find out how consumers can protect themselves when ordering tickets online.
Chris Hadley of the BBB’s Columbia office says when purchasing event tickets, it’s important to know who you are purchasing from and researching a company and reading reviews should be a part of your checklist.
“Know the refund policy, I think is the number one takeaway here,” said Hadley. “When you purchase tickets from a reseller that provides details about the transaction, that’s going to put you in a better spot.”
Another tip Hadley shares is to purchase tickets directly from the venue, if possible. If you do choose to purchase tickets online, Hadley recommends sticking with the larger, more well-known companies such as TicketMaster or StubHub.
Using a debit or credit card to purchase tickets over cash or a wire transfer is less risky, according to Hadley.
When purchasing event tickets, a trusted resource and partner with the BBB is the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB). The NATB offers members a 200% purchase guarantee on all tickets.
