The Stub Hub Promise is not so for Billy Joel
It was early July of 2019 and I was about to buy a house in Westminster Maryland. Westminster is so big that there is a downtown, suburbs, and corn fields all in the same zip code but I like it and my fiancé, and I were super excited to be closing on our new house. The house has everything we like. Its sitting on a big lot 1.12 Acres. It got a big basement for my workout equipment and my man cave. It has a nice kitchen, family room, and living room. It has four bedrooms upstairs including a guest room and a bedroom I would be using as my office. So as the big day approached, we had heard that Billy Joel was coming to Camden Yards my old stomping grounds. I used to be on the team. I was the beer man! Julie and I were thinking how cool it would be to settle on our house in the morning and then go to see Billy Joel that night to celebrate!
So I went on Stub Hub and I found a pair of field seats so we would be close for $172 each and we were excited. I have been to many concerts and while sure we go for the music but the closer you are the more you enjoy the show! So picking seats on Stub Hub is easy. You look on a map, pick a section, and then you can pick from the seats that were available. I picked 2 seats in Field Seven and after I paid, I received a receipt and the 2 tickets were on the stub hub app on my phone. Awesome We’re set! So the closing day came. It was a Friday. We had a little quirk in the schedule because I had to attend a tax class, but we worked it out. We made it to closing a little early signed everything and I was on my way to my class. It was a 4-hour duzy but I finished it and Julie met me at a park n ride near rt 70 and we were our way!
MY son’s car had died so while we were looking for a car for him, we found a nice 09 ML 550 Mercedes Benz for only $9500. It was too much for him, so we bought it and sold him Julies Camry on a payment plan. Perfect! So we left my truck at the park n ride and I took command of the Mercedes. I love that car. When you hit the gas it goes! So having been to more than 750 games at Camden Yards I knew right where to go and right where to park. We were slightly early when we got into the stadium, so we grabbed a bite and headed to our seats. It was very crowded, so it was slow going but we finally made it on the field when the usher told me that our seats were not on field. I said what do you mean. He said your seats are in section seven not field seven. I said Yes, they are I know they are. He said no they are not! So what do you do? I know what I paid for. So I went online and looked up stub Hubs phone but no answer. I went to Orioles fan services. They said there was nothing they could do but I wasn’t alone. Someone else had the exact same problem. The problem was that there was a field 7 and a section 7 and their software on them couldn’t tell the difference. This was the first concert ever held at Camden Yards, so I guess there was a learning curve.
So as hard as it was, I knew there was nothing I could do. So we made the best of a bad situation and just decided to enjoy the night of music and celebrating out new house! We did have good time and he was incredible, but we were more than 100 yards from the stage, and we have the same experience had we been in the seats I purchased. We made it home safe and sound to our new home, but I was eager to hear Stub Hubs response. There was no one available on Saturday so I had to wait until Monday.
I was on the phone bright and early and I had all of my ducks in a row. I had a copy of the receipt which had the price paid and the seats clearly marked Field 7. I also copied the tickets on my phone which said Section 7. So I got ahold of a guy and after going back and forth for 12 to 15 minutes he said they were not at fault, but they would offer me a 30% refund. I said The Stub Hub promise states Fan Protect tm means that every order is 100% guaranteed. He said it’s a 30% refund or nothing. Fine I said I’ll charge it back. He said they would close my account. I said who cares! I said are you stupid, look at my evidence? How can I lose? He said take it or leave it. So I left it. I used my Discover card they’ve got my back. Right? Right? So once again I got all of my evidence together, uploaded it, explained everything to them and they said we’ll be in touch. About 2 weeks later the verdict was in. I lost. Discover said that Stub Hub said that I was confused. I provided clear and convincing evidence and still lost. AMAZING!