Ticketmaster
reviews and complaints

On Saturday, October 27, 2013 my partner and I attended the Madonna concert using the Ultimate VIP Package.We purchased a presale code for $20 which stated we would be assigned seats according to those that bought them first. We were both on our computers the moment the presale VIP tickets went on sale.We did not & could not see our seats until the night of the concert.We paid $3, 000 for two “front seat” Tickets. The seating chart we saw, almost a year before the concert, showed the usual arrangement wher front row tickets are actually in front of the stage. We were deceived by false/improper advertising. Our seats were in Floor Section B, Row 1 Seats 7 and 8. We could not find out our seat assignments until the night of the concert. So we were very upset to see the stage configuration in which we were at the very far end of the “stage” which was actually more like a runway. We also noticed the center opening in the stage was full of standing room only people who had an Amazing view & it further obstructed our $3K view..They created over 100 “1st row tickets by extending the Stage to the 50 yard line of the usual football field. The stage was so far away, I could not see it. I voiced my concerns to the people sitting next to us and they said they paid $500 for their tickets. At most 10% of the show was on the “Runway” around us. us. The rest of the show we spent trying to see the show on the actual stage around tall security guards that continually stood in front of us as well as someone filming the show who hit me numerous times with his camera as well as completely blocking my view. This is unacceptable for the price we were charged. Had I know when I went to purchase these tickets where these seats were, I would certainly not have purchased them! I needed binoculars to see Madonna which I did not bring as I thought we had FRONT ROW SEATS. People from seats behind me kept coming into the front row. I was ready to walk out but I had paid too much money for this experience and was going to stay to the end. This was the most disappointing concert experience I have ever had. We sawStevie Nicks in the same venue two weeks before this, & we were right in front of her. The seat arrangement was the samethat we see on the internet for this venue.not kind of in the front, not to the side – but in the FRONT of the artist. I am sure the guy with the large movie camera could have stood somewhere else or maybe we could have been warned we would have an obstructed view and be compensated for that issue. I am very angry and upset and feel I was robbed of $3000.00. If this was a “Ultimate VIP Package”, there was very little VIP involved. VIP Nation, Live Nation, & Ticketmaster have joined however no one will claim this problem.
So, how do you handle the customers who feel your “experience” did not meet the expectations you promise? I am sick with the fact I paid $3000.00 to basically sit in the back. I will be sharing this experience with others as people should know what to expect from these so called “VIP” packages. I will never buy any tickets again without knowing the stage configuration and seat numbers. How could we be so far back when we purchased tickets immediately with a purchased presale code? How could at the end of the runway part of the stage be considered a front row seat when there were people actually standing in front of the stage? Photo attached is our view with a 300 meter Zoom Lens.
We were mislead by false and incomplete advertising and should be compensated at the very least for the obstructed view (and by the hits from the large movie camera to my face and upper body).They also stated they were a Better Business Bureau Recommended Business but when I checked after this experience, they had a “F” Rating.VIP Nation has refused any compensation. Ticketmaster states it isn't their issue although one woman accidentally told me our “ACTUAL” tickets were voided two days before the concert & new ones were issued.They also advertised themselves as a Better Business Bureau recommended Business but after the concert, I checked & they actually had an "F" Rating.
Ultimate VIP Package
Madonna @ New Orleans
2 1, 500.00 3, 000.00
Saturday, Oct 27
New Orleans, Louisiana,
Total:3, 000.00
Instructions for Ultimate VIP Package
You must bring a valid PHOTO ID matching the MAIN ATTENDEE name on this order. Those who
cannot present a photo ID matching the ATTENDEE name on the order, will be turned away.
PACKAGES ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE
S u b j e c t : Madonna NEW ORLEANS October 27th - Ultimate VIP Itinerary
M V0ON1SV
New Orleans Arena. NEW ORLEANS. October 21'A 2012
Madonna Ultimate VTP Package
Just a reminder... These packages are not transferable. Please check directly with the venue for their camera policy.
Then get ready to enjoy the show from your seat(s) in the front row! Exact seat location available at show.

DO NOT USE TICKETMASTER! I recently contacted Ticketmaster's "Fan Support" for weather related event cancellations and subsequent refunding. They did not provide any solutions or service to me. I spoke to three reps and all repeated the same scripted and puppet responses. They sell the tickets for the venue, period. Beyond that, you are on your own if anything goes wrong. Gabriel, who claimed to be the highest authority that I could speak with, was rude, arrogant, and hung up on me. I will now purchase through any other outlet but Ticketmaster. World Class Service- Every Customer, Every Day? I think not.

I ordered tickets online supposedly before they went on sale to an NFL Jags preseason game as a bday gift for my husband. I called on July 30th because I hadn't received any email regarding the delivery of the tickets yet. Brandon assured me I would have them on Aug 9th the day before the game. Aug 9th I did not have them and again Brandon called the CA vendor who was releasing them supposedly as we spoke. Of course today, game day, I have no tickets. I called first thing and was disconnected after holding from Dan, and then Paula. The third agent Greg was probably the most rude of the three. He put me on hold for over 15 minutes and came back on the line with Shannon the Supervisor who told me she would check with the Vendor in an hour when they open and see what our options are. She also nicely told me that she did not appreciate my sarcasm and she would refund my money if I didn't want the tickets right then. What Great Managerial and Customer Support that was! So here I sit at their mercy awaiting tickets I may or may not before the game in a few hrs. I see by all the other disatisfied customers that I am not alone. It is amazling this company is in business. The absolute worst experience! I highly recommend you order your tickets from an in person, reputable, customer friendly establishment. I will pass the word as much as possible to stop this blatant disregard for customer courtesy. Lesson learned the hard way in FLA.

I purchased tickets through the Ticket Master Canada iPhone app on April 20th, to the Nov. 24th Red Hot Chili Peppers show in Saskatoon. I received my paperless tickets and order number, and was beyond ecstatic! I checked today and now my credit card is showing the tickets were refunded and the paperless tickets are no longer showing in my iPhone app. I called the Ticket Master call centre and was told they were cancelled due to legislation in SK that only allows neighboring provinces/ states to purchase in the first hour, and that they cannot do anything for me as they are just the call centre. I live in Saskatoon, but just moved here. NOWHERE on the iPhone app does it state those stipulations when you go to purchase the tickets to this event at that location. If they have such stipluations, they need make sure they are conveyed on ALL ticket purchasing platforms! If I had known, I would have made darn sure the credit card info had been updated prior.

I am 32 years old and have waited 20+ years for things to line up properly so I could catch a show. I was thrilled when my purchase went through, and now I am beyond devastated.

I had 5th row floor tickets and now they are gone. I have waited years for this and now the tickets are gone! I have contacted everyone I can at Ticket Master to find out what I can do to get these back, but they are telling me I can only purchase nosebleeds now and have to sit way up top and not get the experience I paid for originally.

I am just reaching out to you as I am desperate to see if anything can be done. I am so disappointed. My husband & I have been fans since the beginning and this was something we had been waiting a long time for. This is a very clear omission on Ticket Masters part, but I am the one who suffers for it.

All I want is a pair of tickets that are of the calibre I originally purchased. I am not looking for a freebie, I will pay, but not for nosebleeds when I had 5th row floor for the same price.

If you really want to be embarrassed, just buy tickets from Ticketmaster, the biggest, most arrogant evil in the entertainment mega-industry. Bought tickets to see Garrison Keillor at the Fox Theater in Atlanta months in advance. Had trouble downloading the tickets to print. Called Ticketmaster, and, to make sure everything was safe (for me, that is, because Ticketmaster sure as Hell doesn't give a damn, Scarlett), I backed them up as a PDF file. After a lengthy and frustrating time with the usual over-worked, under-educated rep, the tickets printed. They sat on the calendar for months. Not a word. All is well. Arrive at the Fox for the show. Line up with the rest of the sheep, get to the door, scan tickets. "You can't enter. The ticket scan says these tickets are to be refunded." All the way back to the ticket booth. Guy takes the print tickets and disappears for a long time. Back with a poorly hand written piece of crap to get in. Never saw our tickets again. "Ticketmaster said that the tickets had been printed twice, so they stopped your using them. You can go in now." Frustration, anger, embarrassment. Not over yet! Take the piece-of-crap hand-written ticket in, usher glances, sends us in, second usher listens in the roar of the crowd, glances at hand-written p-o-c and seats us. There we are about where row T should be, twenty or so rows back. "Sir, please come with me!" New Gestapo dressed super, er, Uber-Usher demands that we follow. "You're in row C not T." Re-seated, seething. (By the way, never trust the Fox about row C or row T. Row C was behind quite a few rows crammed in with temporary seating in front of it, so row C was a literal bait-and-switch as far as a third row seat. So was row T. NEVER use Ticketmaster. Skip the show. Why bother. They don't care! They'd sell tickets for their own burning, if they thought they could give the customer less-than-nothing for a fee. Piece of crap all around.

Ticketmaster was to have tickets for the Garth Brooks concert on sales - either by phone or online - 10:00amMDT Saturday - Apr 14th, 2012.
So explain to me how we can have 7 different computers and 7 different phones lines going at 9:58am, 10:00am, and every minute thereafter only to get a busy signal on the phone lines and the online sales to state "there are no tickets available". it did not matter if you were going for 1 ticket or 6 tickets - there "were no tickets available".
There are even some saying that they were able to purchase their tickets in advance of 10:00am. You can obviously BET that Ticketmaster staff and families got theirs before anyone else!
This seems to happen time and again with Ticketmaster when there is a special concert/event coming.

I would like to complain that Ticketmaster charge far too much for service charges for ticketsales. Ive just bought Bill Bailey tickets for the Palace Theatre Manchester, despite various searches there is only Ticketmaster I can buy the tickets from. The face value of the tickets are £55.00 (£27.50x2), however ticketmaster have charged me £4.75 service charge for each ticket so I have paid £9.50 for that, then on top of this I have had to pay an order processing fee of £3.25, so all in all I have paid £12.75 on top of the ticket prices for services, how can they justify charging me nearly a quarter of the ticket cost in services. If it was 4.75 per order I could understand but £4.75 per ticket? The cost of their services for processing two tickets will be hardly anything for the 2nd ticket, surely not the same? I purposely avoid buying from Ticketmaster usually but in this case had no choice. They are ripping the public off, other ticket companies do not charge like this, they have service charges but they are reasonable. Furthermore for Madonna Tickets which are £110.00 ticketmaster are charging £10.50 service charge, this is a lesser percentage service charge compared to my charge. Is there an ombudsman that can look into this as I feel its grossly unfair!

I ordered 6 tickets on Ticket Master website on April 29, 2011. I received confirmation emails that the orders were processed and my credit card was billed. On May 1, 2011, Ticket Master decided to cancel 2 of my tickets as they said I was over the maximum number allowed per customer. By the way, this information (of max of 4) was never posted anywhere on their website and there was the option to order 6 tickets on 4/29/11. Ticket Master NEVER NOTIFIED me of the cancellation. I only found out today, the day of the show, because I was giving out tickets to my friends and realized there are 2 missing! The Customer Service Manager said this is how they operate, they are sorry but they did nothing wrong and have a nice day.

If this was any other e-business, they would be sued so fast. I can't believe they can operate in this fashion and not get in trouble. Where is the advocate for us consumers who have no other choices in where to purchase tickets? We are forced to use a business which has bad operating policies and there is no other choice.

I purchased a ticket on the TicketMaster website and was charged an $7 for additional insurance coverage frin Mondial Assistance without my consent. This is either a very serious bug on the tickemaster website that should be fixed immediately or a scam. Personally I think a 20 percent charge for insurance for something like this is not a good value, but to be charged without my consent is very irritating and is bad business for both Mondial and TicketMaster. Mondial graciously reversed the charges without a problem but this could have easily gone unnoticed. How many customers have lined the pockets of Mundial without even knowing that they have been charged ?

Extremely poor customer service. I purchased tickets over the phone and received a confirmation email indicating the wrong date. Waited 30 mins to get through to someone to talk to only to be told that they can not exchange nor refund. although it was clearly their mistake and there were plenty of seats still available for that day. Ruined out family night out which we planned in advance and really were looking forward to . Appalling attitude and response from customer service. Extremely disappointing.

Back before Christmas, I bought tickets for the NKOTBSB concert being held at the ACC in Toronto, Ontario on June 9th 2011. I spent $110 for each ticket, I bought two. The tickets that I purchased were supposed to be "rear view" but somehow that turned into OBSTRUCTED view.

When we got to our seats, we noticed right away that there was a black curtain and a bunch of wires in our way, blocking our view of the stage completely. We were not impressed, and neither were the other people in our section. Us, and about ten other people seated around us went to Customer Service to complain.

After missing the first 20 minutes of the concert the man that was supposed to help us told us that there was nothing he could do. Understandable, it was a sold out show, however, to make the situation worse his attitude was extremely rude. He made remarks that were very unprofessional and he basically gave us nothing but sarcasm. He down talked us as well, telling us that we should of spent more money and we wouldn't have this problem.

I am a Mother of maternity leave and my sister, who attended the concert with me, is a student in high school, neither one of us would of spent that much money on a ticket if it were explained that it would be an obstructed view. There is a difference between seeing a concert from the rear and not seeing it at all.

We are very upset and angry about the situation and we would like something done about it. I have pictures of our view as well.

The man we spoke to was an Event Personal at the Toronto Air Canada Centre by the name of Don. I asked him for his last name but he wouldn't tell me.
You can reply to my email or cell;
[protected]@live.ca
[protected]

Thank you,
Sarah

I ordered two tickets for the Earth Wind, Fire & Chicago performance in Atlanta Ga on April 1st. (Guess I wound up getting April fooled) but I'm in no way done of being screwed over. I received my confirmation for two seats PIT ROW BBB Seats 15 & 16. Made arrangements as soon as I got the printed confirmation for an awesome surprise for my best friend to fly in from California for the weekend to see her favorite group. I Went yesterday to my local Publix supermarket to pick up my tickets and they were having trouble printing them out. The manager kept entering my confirmation number and even called ticketmaster and they had no idea at the time other then to have the manger re-scan my credit card and try again. After three different people from Ticketmaster had no idea what was wrong they transferred us to a supervisor. They put us on hold for 20 or so minutes and said these tickets were released accidentally and wanted to move me like 50 or so rows back. I'm not paying over $200.00 to go from the second row to the last row in Orchestra. If anyone knows or want to join in a lawsuit count me in or tell me how we do this. If we would have screwed up with purchasing tickets, ticketmaster would say oh well, your problem and so be it. Well its okay for them to make a mistake? I don't think so.

I called into the phone system at 10:00 when tickets went on sale. I was able to get 4 tickets held, section 329, row ? seats 9-12. When it didn't read the row, I asked it to repeat information. It did, again the row was blank. I said I wanted to purchase them, it verified I wanted to purchase them. I said yes. It said it didn't understand me, I said yes, it said please hold while I transfer you to a customer service representative. 25 minutes later, not only did the representative tell me the tickets were gone and the game was sold out, but she had an attitude of "I don't care". She didn't speak or show any concern at all. I realize this is a popular event and that getting tickets was going to be a challenge, but to have 4 tickets ready to be purchased and loose them because of some system error is UNACCEPTABLE!

I purchased under $30 tickets to the Jason Derulo concert for April 6th, 2011, and was charged $157.20 for two tickets that were in the $15-$20 seats. I contacted ticket liquidator who said that songticketing.com is responsible for the actual selling of my concert. All of these vendors / brokers need to be sued: Ticketmaster, Ticket Liquidator, and Song Ticketing. They all just pass it off responsibility to the next vendor or broker. Can anyone file a class action suit against these companies and allow for those who purchased tickets within the past few years to be part of this class action suit? To add insult to injury, Jason Derulo only performed for 45 minutes!

I don't buy tickets very often because I have panic attacks when I know that I have to go through Ticketmaster. This experience was no exception! I live in El Paso, Texas but was trying to buy tickets to an Adele show in Seattle in June. My cousin had no luck on the Ticketmaster website so she contacted me to try calling. I was at work and couldn't spend a ton of time trying to call you to find out if the show was sold out. However, MY time must not be a concern because I was on hold for 10+ minutes and my call was never answered.

Ticketmaster has to be kidding me! I am completely stumped as to why any building or promoter would use their services to piss off their customers. Never again will I allow Ticketmaster to frustrate me and waste my time. No artist is important enough as far as I am concerned.

On Jan. 9th 2011 I purchased 3 tickets to see Adam Carolla live in Napa Ca. on Feb. 4th from Ticketmaster. I have been using Ticketmaster for a few years with no issues. My credit card was charged $156 & change. The tickets never arrived in the mail. A week before the show, I e-mailed Ticketmaster to inform them that my tickets had not hit my mailbox yet. I don't know if anybody ever read that e-mail. On the evening of the show I called my 2 friends that I was taking & informed them that the plans were canceled. On Monday I called Ticketmaster & after jumping thru several hoops I spoke with a human. He looked up my transaction and informed me that "THE TICKETS HAD NEVER BEEN PRINTED" This explains why they never got mailed to me. I asked him for a refund or a raincheck for another show. He put me on hold briefly, returned after speaking with his manager & informed me that "There was nothing we can do for you" NADA, S.O.L. This is unacceptable for Ticketmaster to treat their customers this way. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company. I will NEVER use Ticketmaster again!

I spent two hours on Friday trying to finalize two seats in the risers for the Ron White show on Jan. 21. 2011. I had two seats that I was trying to finalize. When I got to the payment part it went blank after it said my payment was approved, but I couldn't get to the confermation to get the tickets. I went through this process again and again for over two hours. I kept checking to see if they took out the payment and they didn't so I kept trying. When I got home I tryed again but the tickets I wanted had been sold. The only tickets left were in the nose bleed section.
I contacted ticketmaster and they sent me an email stating they would contact me within the hour. They sent an email within the hour stating that they would find me seats ASAP. The following day I wrote them another email wondering if they were closed over the weekend. When they contacted me they told me that even though I had the tickets I really didn't because other people are offered the same tickets at the same time. This makes no sense to me. To make a long story short. They did offer me tickets the next day in the nose bleed section. I won't be going to see Ron White because they don't have any good tickets left.
I don't think it is fair that ticketmaster is the only way to get tickets to shows.

Barb Mattison

I ordered my tickets for the Cotton Bowl in September. Waited for the e-mail saying my tickets were sent out- never came. Waited and never received them by October. Five representatives later... The first two lied to me over the phone and said they would cancel the original tickets and resend new ones. The two were via e-mail and they informed me I had to pick them up at will call- at the box office. When I informed them I was giving the tickets as a gift they said 'no problem' I just have to give the people who are going my credit card information. Umm, yeah that's a problem. I don't just hand out a copy of my c.c. front and back. So, I called to explain it to another rep. and he, lacking any customer service skills, informed me they are not responsible for the mail or the customers receiving the tickets. Also, I could send the person to the box office without my c.c. info. but they might refuse entry- in which case there is nothing they can do. Wow. I chose ticketmaster for their credibility, but I made a huge mistake. Will never happen again.

i ordered tickets for the chicago shedd aquarium for june 13th.they send me tickets for saturday june 12th. i called to complain and see if they could just send me new tickets since it was already paid for.they told me no they couldnt do that since they were no longer selling tickets for the 12th.i said well this is ridiculous i ordered tickets for the 13th and on your end screwed up and sent me tickets for the wrong date, they relpiled by saying they couldnt reissue due to all sales being final, and that they couldnt resell tickets for that date. they were unwilling to refund or reissue tickets for the proper date after numerous phone calls. and even after i disputed the charges with my bank and them trying to contact for information with no returned phone calls! I will NEVER use this comapny again! they are only out to get the money they could care less what happens after they get that credit card number!