FOXBORO, Mass. — The Carter family was counting down the days to Apr. 28, the second show in a three-night stint for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“We’ve been listening to Taylor Swift every time we’re in the car,” Mother Christy said.
Christy and Andy Carter went on StubHub in November and purchased two $500 seats for their 14 and 12-year-old daughters. But the week of the concert, StubHub told them their seats were no longer available.
“[StubHub] told us the seller could not provide our tickets,” Christy said. “They couldn’t find the tickets. They couldn’t find the seller and they kept pushing me to take a refund or pay more [for different seats].”
StubHub eventually helped the Carters get into the Atlanta show, citing the company’s FanProtect Guarantee of valid tickets or your money back. But Carter’s experience is proof that even when you go through a legitimate third-party app like StubHub, you can still encounter headaches.
Since November, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said it has received five consumer complaints against StubHub involving Swift’s May 19-21 shows in Foxborough. The majority of complaints asked for help getting refunds or replacement tickets because of delivery issues with purchased tickets.
U.S. PIRG Consumer Watchdog Teresa Murray has five suggestions if you’re still looking for Swift tickets.
AVOID BUYING FROM INDIVIDUALS YOU DON’T KNOW
Despite recent complaints, Murray said to continue using reputable third-party exchange sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek because they offer the most consumer protection. If you do stray from major resale sites, Murray recommends you only buy from individuals you have a personal connection to, like a co-worker or family friend.
“I wouldn’t buy from an individual randomly on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist or anyplace else where you don’t know the person and you may never know them and they may never care,” Murray said.
BUY YOUR TICKETS WITH A CREDIT CARD
If you do buy from somebody you don’t know, Murray says always use a credit card, because they offer better protection than cash or peer-to-peer payment apps.
“For goodness sakes, please use a credit card, never a debit card, never anything else, never wire transfers,” Murray said.
DOUBLE-CHECK A WEBSITE’S URL
If you Google “Taylor Swift tickets Foxborough,” watch the results for counterfeit sales sites that look real. For example, scammers could create a “Vivid Seats” web address using two lowercase L’s instead of two uppercase I’s.
“I guarantee you that there are bad guys out there that have designed counterfeit websites to look like legitimate websites,” Murray said. “Not only are you not going to get any tickets, you’re also providing your payment information to some bad guy.”
CHECK TO SEE IF THE SEATS EXIST IN THE VENUE
Take the time to verify the seat exists. Check the seating chart in Gillette to see if your section, row and seat are actually part of Swift’s show.
“People can use Photoshop to make these amazing-looking counterfeits and they’ll put in random rows and seats that don’t exist. You could have figured it out with a real quick search,” Murray said.
BEWARE OF VERIFICATION SCAMS
Watch out for anyone selling tickets who wants you to send a code to verify your identity. That’s usually a scam to create a Google Voice account in your name.
“People get tricked into providing these codes when they’re desperate to buy tickets,” Murray said. “If they encounter a person saying they want to send them a code to verify their identity, RUN! It’s bad news.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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