PROBLEM SOLVED

Vanessa Wilkins is trying to get a refund from Live Nation for her Muna concert tickets. But it's been four months, and the company can't help her. Or can it?

I've been trying to get a refund for Muna concert tickets on Live Nation. The company says I should be able to resell them on the website, but every time I try, it gives an error page.

I have no option but to try and reach out to you to help me get a refund. I have tried their chat function, email, social media, and phone and have received little to no responses. It's been four months. Can you help me get my $150 back?

Vanessa Wilkins, Los Angeles

If Live Nation says you can resell your tickets online, it should offer that option -- not an error message.

But your case is more complicated, and it may explain the reason for the error. You initially contacted Live Nation because you saw a charge for the Muna show on your credit card. You reported the purchase as fraudulent.

It turns out a relative bought the tickets using your account, which you later clarified. The messages between you and Live Nation show that the company would not refund the tickets but that you could try to resell them. But then you were unable to list them for sale.

It's possible that the fraud report flagged your account, disabling the ability to resell the tickets in the Live Nation system. The company should have tried to fix that for you. Instead, you went back and forth for four months with the company, which is not ideal.

You could have escalated your complaint to a manager at Ticketmaster, which owns Live Nation. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the Ticketmaster executives on my consumer advocacy website, Elliott.org.

You might have avoided this situation by ensuring you're the only person with access to your sensitive financial information, such as credit card numbers and passwords. Avoid giving your credit card to anyone who might make a surprise concert ticket purchase. Beyond that, it's important to remember that companies take fraud reports seriously. They're likely to disable or limit your account if you report a fraudulent purchase.

I contacted Ticketmaster on your behalf.

"We're sorry to hear of the trouble you've had regarding a refund," a representative said in an email. "We were able to obtain authorization from the event organizer to refund your order. We apologize for the frustration and inconvenience this has caused."

Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy. Email him at [email protected] or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help

© 2022 Christopher Elliott