Soccer fans' World Cup tickets vanish due to StubHub app glitch

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- College students Jason Thurston and Emi Watanabe say their plans to attend a World Cup match in Dallas were disrupted after their purchased tickets were suddenly unavailable.

Joseph Thurston said the tickets were intended as a birthday gift.

"She just turned 21 a week ago and I thought this would be a good present for her bday," he said.

The couple bought $1,600 seats in Section 1 through StubHub in March for the Sweden-Japan World Cup match. After securing the tickets, they booked nonrefundable flights, an Airbnb and a rental car for their trip. Two days before their flight, they received a text message stating their tickets were no longer available.

Joseph Thurston said they attempted to contact StubHub several times before reaching a representative, who offered either a refund or replacement tickets, if available.

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"We pretty much were like, we don't want a refund, we want what we paid for. That's when Emi reached out to you guys and pretty much telling you the story," Joseph Thurston said.

Watanabe said the replacement options presented were significantly more expensive.

"They had a link that was for seats of comparable value but since we got our tix so long ago. Anything of comparable value is thousands of dollars more for section that we got originally," she said.

After 7 On Your Side contacted the company, the case was escalated. StubHub attributed the issue to the event organizer's ticketing system.

In a statement, StubHub said: "The issues fans have experienced at this World Cup are largely driven by performance problems with the event organizer's own ticketing infrastructure, which has created transfer failures across all resale platforms. Every StubHub order is backed by our FanProtect Guarantee, so when ticket transfer is interrupted, we work to find a comparable replacement ticket or issue a full refund. Getting fans to their matches is always the priority, and our teams are working through every case with that goal."

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Two days before the match, StubHub notified the couple that replacement tickets were available, though not in their original section and farther from the field. The couple said the new seats also required additional payment.

"The replacement are not as nice of seats. They're definitely a downgrade. We did have to pay extra for them," Joseph and Emi said.

They said the experience dampened what was supposed to be an exciting trip but that they remain focused on enjoying it.

"More than anything, we're just grateful to go on a trip together. At least we're going to the game, which was not happening at first," they said.

Consumers planning to attend major events are advised to review the terms of third-party ticket sellers carefully, as tickets may not be guaranteed. Purchasing directly from official sources, when possible, may help avoid similar issues.

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