A Valley man purchased tickets to a Phoenix Suns game on StubHub, only to receive an email the day of the game telling him his seats had been changed — and not for the better.

Ronnie said he originally bought tickets in Section 115, a lower bowl area in the arena. But hours before tip-off, he received an unexpected message from the platform.

"It says, Hey, congratulations, your seats have been upgraded. I'm like, upgraded? Okay, what does that mean? So, I go to click on the tickets, and unfortunately, they're not upgraded," Ronnie explained.

His new tickets were in Section 225.

"I went from having really good lower bowl seats to not good seats," Ronnie added.

StubHub's "FanProtect Guarantee" states that when a seller fails to fulfill an order, buyers will receive replacement tickets or a full refund. But Ronnie felt like the replacement tickets should have been in the same section as the seats he originally purchased.

"It was like, ‘Well, we can either refund you your money or, you know, you could take these tickets.’ And it felt like I was in a bit of a no-win situation," Ronnie said.

That’s when Ronnie Let ABC15 Know. Our team emailed the company asking about what happened with his tickets and a spokesperson sent us the following statement:

"We sincerely apologize to Ronnie for the frustration and confusion this situation caused. What happened here fell short of the experience we strive to deliver, and we acknowledge that our communication should have been clearer. We have since issued a full refund as a courtesy and apologized directly for the inconvenience… We take situations like this seriously and are committed to doing better."

Ronnie said he was glad to get his money back, but the experience definitely changed how he plans to buy tickets going forward.

"I didn't know that StubHub operated as a ticket exchange, primarily that they're like a go-between, a broker, between sellers and buyers. As opposed to Ticketmaster, who may have the hard tickets already readily available.

So, moving forward, I would probably want to go to that route to ensure that I'm getting what I pay for," Ronnie said.

What to know before using a ticket exchange platform

If you are considering using a ticket exchange platform like StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats or Gametime, here is what you should keep in mind:

• Always confirm the platform offers a buyer guarantee before purchasing.
• StubHub's "FanProtect Guarantee" states the company will find "comparable or better tickets" or offer a refund if the seller does not provide the tickets you ordered.

However, StubHub's policy also states that what qualifies as "comparable tickets" is left to the company's discretion.

Do you have a consumer problem? Let ABC15 Know! Email Consumer@abc15.com

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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