On Your Side secures $400 credit for World Series ticket trouble

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- From tee ball to the big leagues, baseball is a big deal for Matt Fisher and his five-year-old son, Leo. “It’s a father, son thing,” Fisher said. This season, the duo been to Chase Field several times to cheer on their beloved Diamondbacks. “[Leo] was actually the little hot dog in the hot dog race,” Fisher smiled. So when the D-backs punched their ticket to the World Series, Fisher knew he needed tickets, too.

“It doesn’t come around very often. It’s been almost 25 years, so by the time we can go again, [Leo] may be 30-years-old,” Fisher said. After the team’s victory in the National League Championship Series, he logged onto SeatGeek and chose two seats in the 300 level. It was expensive, but worth it. “Went to bed. Everything was fine. Everything was confirmed. Money went out of my account,” Fisher said. The next morning, he woke up to a message that the transaction was canceled. Then, he had to break the news to Leo. “I tell him, ‘I’m really sorry man. We don’t have tickets anymore,’ and he just broke down. As a parent, when you see your kid crying, it just infuriates you,” Fisher said.

On Your Side wanted to know what happened, so we reached out to SeatGeek. The company tells us they are looking into why the seller rejected the order, and they walked us through the platform’s ticket-buying process. Here’s what you need to know that you may not realize; Ticket sellers actually have a small window to review and approve orders, so when you buy your ticket, it actually goes to a ‘pending’ state. If a seller rejects the order, for any reason, the pending charge on the buyer’s card is voided. For bigger events, like the World Series, SeatGeek says it could take minutes for sellers to approve orders.

“I think they realized they could get more money for it, because at the time it was significantly cheaper and after the game, you saw the trend. The tickets went way up in price, so they obviously realized they could make a lot more money and then SeatGeek gets more fees as well,” Fisher said. According to SeatGeek’s buyer guarantee, issues with transactions are handled on a case-by-case basis.

There’s still a chance Fisher and his son will be in the crowd at Game 3, as planned. After On Your Side reached out, SeatGeek sent Fisher a $400 credit to make up the difference of the increase in ticket prices for similar seats.

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