You know, no one likes being wrong.
And yet ... even I don't know if that's completely true. I'm sure there's someone out there that likes being wrong. Maybe even just part of the time.
But I'm not one of those people. And, while it pains me to admit (in this particular instance) that I'm wrong, I'm still going forward in doing so of my own volition.
So ... here's my tale. Which concludes in the admission I was indeed and in fact wrong ...
On March 14th, 2023 I purchased tickets through Ticketmaster for a Sunday, May 21st Oakland, California concert featuring the band Love And Rockets.
Now, understand this is a band I've wanted to see since I first discovered them back in the 80s. They've continually escaped my seeing them live over the many years with one small exception; their alter ego Tones On Tail - which featured 2/3 of the members of Love And Rockets - played in a small club in Hollywood years and years ago. That show I did get to in the flesh ... and, while the band performed nary a tune from the L&R catalog, I was at least a bit satisfied I caught a derivation of a band I felt connected to.
So ... tickets acquired, I hurried up and waited to see a show still a couple months hence.
And then? It was time. That very morning I got on my computer and searched for the electronic tickets that would afford me entry into the show. But it was to little avail as I couldn't find them to save my life.
The account I had with Ticketmaster (where my electronic tickets were housed) wasn't cooperating and didn't let me access the tickets in question. Tickets for another upcoming show - Tears For Fears - were handy and accessible but my Love And Rockets tickets were nowhere to be found.
Now, I had the foresight to print out a copy of my receipt for my purchase. And that included the order number, the date, the amount paid for, the venue the seats ... just about everything that I needed. But the receipt stated it could not be used to gain entry into the show. So I went on a hunt to see how I could go about getting my tickets for the show later that evening.
The response I got back via e-mail was that someone from Ticketmaster would contact me within 24 to 48 hours with a response, zero help in that the show was a scant 10 hours away. I did everything I took could to try to get in contact with Ticketmaster some other way but to zero avail.
Now? I had a decision to make. Do I drive 2 1/2 hours to Oakland and try to get into the show with the receipt I had in hand containing the very seat numbers printed in plain view as proof of my purchase, even though there's a statement on the receipt saying I couldn't use the receipt to gain entry into the show? Did I commit to a 7 hour round trip to and from Oakland which might yield nothing for my efforts? Or do I just admit defeat and see what I could do about getting reimbursed for the tickets?
I decided not to waste my time in going to Oakland. And I immediately began the process of trying to get a refund for the extenuating circumstances.
One of the first things I did was access my account that shows upcoming and past events on the Ticketmaster app. Nowhere did it show there was anything to do with Love And Rockets. That in itself was curious. Additionally, I had the foresight to purchase insurance on the tickets should anything come up. So I had that peace of mind going for me. (Or so I thought.)
Little did I know months of reimbursement attempts would get me nowhere.
Round and round and round I went with Ticketmaster complaining I had no access to my electronic tickets. The fact there was nothing on the Ticketmaster app saying I even had Love And Rockets tickets I felt was proof enough there were extenuating circumstances to the situation, proof I couldn't access my tickets. But Ticketmaster wasn't budging. They stated it wasn't their fault that I couldn't access my tickets. I tried reasoning with them, I asked how I was supposed to access tickets that weren't there. Weeks of attempts from different viewpoints led to one single conclusion: It was apparent I would need to hit up the insurance I'd purchased for the tickets to get reimbursement.
But even that wasn't a solution to the situation. According to the details and fine print of the insurance, my particular situation wasn't one that culminated in reimbursement.
So almost three months after purchasing the tickets, I finally got access to speaking with an actual person at Ticketmaster as opposed to a chat session or e-mail. The lady I spoke with was very attentive and understanding, acknowledging exactly where I was coming from with my explanation. She took copious notes and told me it would be three to five days for a response to get back to me, which I was satisfied with. I mean ... this is the furthest I'd gotten with Ticketmaster since the whole situation started.
But ... when I got the response, I was told my tickets were accessible and there would be no refund.
So back on the phone I got and spoke with another woman at Ticketmaster. And this, in three months of attempts, was the first time I got some conclusive and definitive reasoning why I couldn't access my tickets.
The woman had noted she could see my tickets in my past events. So I asked her why I could not? She asked me to verify my e-mail address and, when I did, she stated that wasn't the e-mail address used to access my Ticketmaster account where my Love And Rocket tickets were housed. The only other e-mail address I had I gave to her and she said that was the one where I could actually see my tickets.
So come to find out, months later, I had been working with an incorrect e-mail to access my Ticketmaster app. At some point in the distant past I had to have purchased some tickets through my secondary e-mail and completely forgot I had done so. For whatever reason it was that e-mail I purchased the Love And Rockets show, thus my ultimate demise in not being able to access the tickets.
So, the insurance didn't help me get a refund, my many, many explanations through all forms of communication with Ticketmaster didn't help me get a refund.
It was my own faulty blunder, plain and simple.
No refund, no satisfaction ... just the glaring realization I had to admit that, on this particular Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023, I was wrong.
.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )
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