Fans are furious after the World Cup tickets they bought through the outlets are no longer available

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Fans are furious after the World Cup tickets they bought through the outlets are no longer available

ATLANTA (AP) — Bina Ramroop broke down in tears when she realized that she would not get the World Cup tickets she had bought for her grandson’s 13th birthday.

As thousands flocked to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday to watch Spain take on Cape Verde in what turned out to be a stunning draw, Ramroop stood outside, tense as he went back and forth for hours between StubHub representatives on the phone and FIFA representatives at the ticket booth. Each one blamed the other.

No one could figure out why the tickets Ramroop bought months ago on StubHub for $485 each were not transferred from the original seller to FIFA’s ticketing app. StubHub offered him a refund and, as Ramroop heard the crowd roar at the start of the match, he knew he had no choice but to give in and take the offer.

“I didn’t want my money back, I didn’t want my money back,” said Ramroop. “I wanted to go to the game.”

The World Cup has brought excitement to the stadium, but fans have taken to social media to complain about tickets not arriving, orders canceled at the last minute and hours spent trying to resolve issues between FIFA’s ticketing system and outside sales platforms. Most seem to be about industry titan StubHub, but people who have bought through competitors like SeatGeek and Vivid Seats have also reported problems. Interviews with fans and industry experts show that some cases stem from technical problems in the transfer process, while others may involve sellers who never had tickets for delivery in the first place, although StubHub denies that such sales occur on its site.

Grandma’s disappointment

FIFA has urged fans to buy resale tickets on its marketplace, where it charges a 30% penalty on all resold tickets – 15% each to the buyer and seller. But many fans have bought through other resale sites, either out of habit or because those sites have lower prices or are easier to navigate.

Ramroop didn’t realize he was taking a risk when he bought through StubHub, which he had used in the past without any problems.

As he and his grandson Elijah Gomes took a long, one-of-a-kind train ride back to the Atlanta suburbs, Elijah followed the notes on his phone. The game was scoreless, and he tried to cheer up his distraught grandmother by telling her that they didn’t miss that much (the Cape Verdeans would beg to differ).

“He says to me, ‘Grandma, it’s okay, Grandma.’ And he is trying to comfort me,” said Ramroop the next day.

He was by no means alone. An Associated Press reporter saw more than a dozen frustrated fans at the game who said they were stuck in similar situations.

StubHub blamed FIFA for the transfer problems experienced by buyers like Ramroop. In a statement, it said FIFA had a “poor technical infrastructure,” imposed transfer restrictions at the last minute and did not launch its new ticketing system until weeks before the tournament. The company also called on organizers to “take anti-competitive measures” that limit where fans can buy and sell tickets.

Asked about technical issues, FIFA on Wednesday reiterated that sales through its official website were guaranteed to go through.

It’s a long-term industry problem

Industry observers say these problems appear to be caused by more than one factor. For others, it may be technical issues – a problem that StubHub says is “very rare” and difficult to solve. For others, they say it may be a long-term scourge: speculative traders.

Scott Friedman, an industry veteran and founder of a company called Ticket Talk Network, said some sellers list tickets before they have them, betting that prices will drop closer to the event so they can buy tickets at a better price later. But because World Cup ticket prices have risen since the start of the tournament, those sellers have been forced to buy expensive tickets to fill their orders or cancel and accept fines from resale platforms. StubHub penalties are typically 200% of the ticket price, Friedman said.

“This is nothing new,” Friedman said, pointing to other high-profile events where frustrated fans have been left empty-handed, including Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. “This was happening, but it is heard all over the world because it is the World Cup.”

StubHub says it requires sellers to confirm they have tickets before listing them.

But regardless of the reason for the sales cancellation, Friedman said “StubHub has to fill every order to make sure fans get into the biggest sports event that happens every four years.”

That’s what many fans say they expected when they shopped with StubHub.

StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee promises replacement tickets or refunds if tickets fail to arrive. But the policy says those treatments are often provided at StubHub’s “sole discretion,” meaning the company can choose to get a refund instead of getting a replacement seat.

“This is clear language,” said Michael McCann, a sports law expert at the University of New Hampshire. McCann noted that a consumer could try to challenge the language under federal consumer protection laws, but it would be an uphill battle.

Father’s remorse

Pape Ndaw is certain that the high school graduation gift he got for his son – tickets to see the Netherlands and Japan near his hometown of Dallas – never arrived.

He bought the tickets for about $550 each in December. Then, two days before the June 14 game, he received an email from StubHub saying, “The vendor is unable to deliver your original tickets.”

Ndaw accepted a store credit instead of a refund, thinking he would use the funds to get replacements, only to find that last-minute cheap tickets were going for more than $1,500 each. Not only would they not be able to go to the game, but Ndaw said that StubHub had rejected his request for a refund instead of a store credit.

Coming out to his son who loves football a lot was cruel, said Ndaw.

“It was a disaster,” he said. “He had told all his friends he was going to that game. He literally cried. I mean, he’s a 17-year-old kid, but he cried.”

It’s a family effort to do everything possible

Some are successful in some way.

Patrick O’Neil from Pittsboro, North Carolina, went to Atlanta with his wife, son and relatives after buying five tickets through StubHub for the Spain-Cape Verde game. Two tickets were successfully transferred, but three did not arrive.

O’Neil’s 15-year-old son and his uncle ended up using two tickets, while O’Neil, his wife and another relative watched from a nearby bar.

After local media covered their grief, O’Neil said StubHub contacted the family and offered them tickets to the game. Since the family had already purchased one-way tickets, however, he and his wife asked the company to instead donate seats at a non-profit football stadium to people who might not be able to attend the game.

“StubHub is not a bad thing, but it’s part of a whole system that makes it very difficult for normal kids and people who might want to see a match going on,” O’Neil said.

On Thursday, a StubHub representative confirmed to the AP that the company would honor the O’Neils’ request and send the tickets to the nonprofit.

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AP World Cup:

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