SALLY SORTS IT: StubHub won’t refund my £4,100 for cancelled Adele gig

Last January we bought three tickets to one of Adele’s concerts in Las Vegas, scheduled for March 2022. They cost $4,970 (£4,100).

The event was canceled and moved to December, which we couldn’t make it. We bought the tickets through the US ticket agency StubHub, using my husband’s American Express card.

The tickets were supposed to be sent to us in digital form, but we never received them and therefore we had no chance to resell them, as we should have.

We tried twice to get a refund through a chargeback claim on our Amex card, but failed. There has been no proper communication and StubHub has blocked us.

CE, Bourne End, Bucks.

Sally Hamilton replies: It was one of the biggest dramas in the pop world last year when Adele canceled her Las Vegas performances just days before the first performance.

She made a tearful video apologizing and disappointing thousands of fans, many of whom came from Britain and spent a fortune on tickets, flights and hotels to see her perform live at the iconic Caesars Palace.

You and your husband, along with a friend, were among those who specifically booked a trip to Las Vegas to see the Someone Like You singer perform in concert.

In your case, this would be the first time seeing her live. Unfortunately you told me the whole process of the canceled event and trying to get your money back has colored your view of the pop star and you don’t plan on seeing her in concert again.

It all started to go wrong, you said, when the original series of performances at Caesars Palace was postponed rather than cancelled. You were told you couldn’t get your money back for the tickets unless the shows were cancelled.

Despite this, you decided to go to Las Vegas anyway, because you were afraid that you would lose the money you paid for the flights and the hotel.

It turns out that American singer Katy Perry was performing there on the same dates you originally booked for Adele, so you attended her show instead – with seats just two rows back from the stage and much cheaper than your Adele tickets .

You were over the moon with Perry’s performance and glad you stuck to your Las Vegas plans.

Meanwhile, you were left in the dark about what to do with your expensive Adele tickets. At that time, no one knew what was going to happen to her concerts and whether she would reschedule them or eventually cancel them.

You contacted StubHub, but the staff simply told you to read the terms of sale, which stated that you were not entitled to a refund because the concert was not cancelled.

It said that if you couldn’t make it to the rescheduled date, you could resell the tickets through StubHub.

As it turned out, Adele announced rescheduled performances in the fall, with December 23 as your new date.

Since you had no intention of attending, especially so close to Christmas, you tried to start the ticket sales process.

That’s when you realized you never received one.

You tried to contact StubHub, but the emails you found to contact the agency were “no reply” addresses. You tried to call a US number and received a voice message. You also tried his chatbot, but got nowhere.

In October, you submitted your first chargeback claim through Amex. This is a voluntary system offered by card providers where cardholders can dispute a transaction and request a refund for a failed purchase.

It is a two-way process, where the customer and the business have the opportunity to provide evidence.

Your husband received an email from StubHub asking him to withdraw his claim or the tickets would be canceled and removed from the resale list.

You were confused because you never received the tickets, even though your account on the StubHub app indicated they would ship in August. Because the email came from a no-reply address, your husband was unable to respond.

You have told Amex several times that you have not received the tickets and have not been able to contact StubHub. You showed the provider a screenshot of your account in the app that simply stated that your tickets would be ‘available soon’.

You were extremely frustrated with the difficulties of contacting StubHub, something I identify with, after trying the press department in the US three times before someone finally responded.

On the third attempt, I felt a little shrill and demanded that StubHub show me proof that it sent you the tickets – or pay.

Finally a (quite long) response from StubHub.

“After review, we confirmed that the tickets he purchased were never delivered.

It’s a rare occurrence, but it’s worth noting that StubHub’s records show they never heard from this buyer about any issues, so they couldn’t help him find replacement tickets or refund them immediately, as our standard procedures would have been in support of our FanProtect Guarantee, which guarantees that if there is an error with the tickets, they will find tickets of equal or better value or offer a full refund.”

The spokesperson added that since your husband had contested the charge through Amex, that meant StubHub couldn’t refund the credit until the chargeback case was closed.

Last week, StubHub told me that since the chargeback claim was completed through Amex, with no refund given, the agency could now issue a conventional refund to your husband’s card — which, much to your relief, has now happened.

Thankfully, in the words of Adele’s popular Bond theme song, Skyfall, “this is the end.”

Shock £4,700 Italian hospital bill

In July 2016, my partner and I went on holiday to Tuscany. We had travel insurance with Axa and a European health insurance card (Ehic).

On the last day I got sick and went to a hospital 15 miles away where I was diagnosed with sepsis. My partner was told I could die within 24 hours.

But after five days in intensive care and another four days in the main hospital, I got better and was discharged.

We arranged everything with Axa and a doctor was flown in to escort me home.

As far as we were concerned, everything was fine with the claim. But recently I received a letter from the hospital saying I owed him €5,494 (£4,786). Since this happened six years ago, I have no paperwork.

PH, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

Sally Hamilton replies: First, I’m glad you’ve recovered from your pesky sepsis brush. But what a horrible thing to receive a shock bill after so many years.

I contacted Axa, who was just as surprised as you about the mysterious invoice. He immediately went to investigate.

From his records, Axa was able to see that the Italian hospital accepted your Ehic card at the time of the incident.

This card allows holders to receive healthcare in most European countries under the same arrangements as the local population.

The service is often free, or may have a fee that is non-refundable. Since the UK left the European Union, the same schemes are offered through a Global Health Insurance Card once an existing Ehic card expires.

Axa says your claim went through normally, with your past medical history reviewed, bills covered, and medical counseling provided. At no time did the hospital report financial concerns to Axa or to you.

After my intervention, Axa contacted the hospital through its local team in Italy. Meanwhile, it confirmed that no matter what happened, you didn’t have to pay this bill.

Axa kept me informed as I traveled back and forth between her and the hospital over the following weeks. I am happy to say that the hospital has finally confirmed that it has accepted your Ehic coverage and no charges are being requested.

An Axa spokesperson says: ‘The hospital will send the customer a credit note to confirm that they are not liable for the costs.’

• Write to Sally Hamilton of Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organization giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send any original documents, we cannot take any responsibility for that. The Daily Mail assumes no legal liability for answers provided.