AIBU to think ticketmaster are being totally unreasonable

[OhTheRoses]

And not just for taking 30 mins to answer the phone.

Have Hamilton tickets for next week. DD's treat before uni. I paid - in January.

I have asked if DH could go instead of me; taking credit card, id and marriage certificate. I have a significant reason for not going which I explained. The answer is no regardless of the reason in case we are touts. They will not even let me go to box office, collect tickets and send DH in instead of me.

This doesn't feel like good customer service and has left a bitter taste. I'd have expected a bit more flexibility.

I knew this would be Hamilton. They can and do check ID, and will refuse entry. I know plenty of people who have called up, returned tickets and immediately repurchased with the card details of the person who can go - they're much more amenable to this than breaking rules.

I'd escalate it, OP.

Phone the theatre. I had a similar issue with Hamilton and the theatre itself sorted it very quickly and efficiently.

I feel for you, it’s tough. I agree with the policy because touts are awful vultures who ruin theatre. But it can cause problems for people in your situation, and I am sympathetic.

Would they refund your tickets and let your DH buy them? Or is there anyway you can still go?

I'd just go, collect tickets and swap places with dh if you can. I'd be surprised if ID is checked after the box office!

It doesn't quite work like that at Hamilton as the card holder has to present the original card and ID and have all members of the party with them at the point of entry (they check while you're in the queue). Then your card gets swiped and they print out your tickets as you enter the theatre. You aren't able to go back outside, so can't pass them to anyone else.

That said, my colleague wanted to swap his place so his wife could go with their DD. He phoned the box office, they were able to deal with it as a return, and a re-purchase using wife's card. Then the wife was able to enter the theatre as described above.

I think it's ridiculous actually, surely if you take the ID along of the person who originally bought the tickets that is enough. No touts would go to that sort of effort so it would still have the same effect.

If you pay £100 for tickets to see something then had a stomach bug, someone should be able to take your place. Daft there is nothing they can do. At the least they should be able to do what Elphaba has mentioned above. That surely should be fine.

X post with Elphaba but the point is the same

It’s not Ticketmaster it’s specific rules for Hamilton set up by Delfont Mackintosh so you’ll have to take it up with them.

They did it incidentally to prevent a repeat of what happened in New York were ticket touts were buying all the tickets and selling them on for $$$ And when i say that I mean inflating the price by THOUSANDS not 20 or 30 pounds more. It was done for the customers not against them and the rules were clear from the beginning. Ed Sheeran did something similar and more and more venues and acts will go that way.

You might say well of course we aren’t selling them on my DH is going but it’s also what a ticket tout would say.

Go to Hamilton. It’s amazing.

Contact the producers, and offices of Cameron Mackintosh, who is the co producer. They ok’d Ticketmaster putting these sanctions in place, but hide behind Ticketmaster. Hadjab, so sorry to hear of the disgusting way you have been treated. Contact the Cameron Mackintosh Office. Details below. The more people who scream, the more flexible the options could be. Cameron Mackintosh are quick enough to charge extortionate booking fees for this ( and their own theatres and shows, such as Les Mis and Mamma Mia) but never want to help customers with genuine need.

This is all nuts! I’m very glad it’s not my thing.

Hadjab I’m very sorry to hear about your DH 💐. This fuss over tickets he bought for you is the last thing you need, they should have sorted it out immediately and sent you a voucher for a complimentary program or something. I hope you’re able to enjoy it once you get in.

Could you not resell the ticket to DH through GetMeIn? That's their official resale site. It would cost you the fee they add on top but at least you could use the ticket. So, you list it and then he immediately buys it? Always a risk that someone else gets in first though I suppose.

Ah, see that there are specific rules for Hamilton so that may not work. I've bought tickets for other events for my DS through GetMeIn and never had an issue even though I've bought the ticket and it's in another names and DS goes who is neither the purchaser or reseller.

I'm fairly sure Get Me In isn't Hamilton friendly not sure where that's come from

Any ticket sold on any other website, including all secondary ticket sites like GetMeIn or eBay, will be voided and refused admission.

In any case if the OP were to use it to sell it to her DH and it wasn't voided (unlikely) her DD still wouldn't be able to get in without the OP

Thanks all, and thanks @Buxtonstill for the tip, just sending off an email now, to be followed by a tweet or two!

I had to get a passport to be able to take DD to Hamilton. They are so fucking strict, were rude to me about it, then never even looked at the damn thing when we got there!

@Hadjab in your situation I would try tweeting Lin Manuel Miranda directly as well as all the actors in the main parts - you've got nothing to lose.

I feel like a fool but what is HAMILTON?

As well @Hadjab LMM is living in the UK at the moment filming His Dark Materials and so easy for him to make a call if you grab his attention

@PersianCatLady HAMILTON is an multi award winning musical about the Founding Fathers Of America (mainly Alexander Hamilton) with a Rap/Hip Hop soundtrack and intentionally diverse casting

Yeah OP, you've been TicketMastered.

It makes 0% difference to them if they lose you a a customer, or if you sound-off about it on social media.

I actually laughed out loud when I read your words "more flexibility" with respect to TicketMaster, which shows how little I think of them.

They hold all the power unfortunately, so the situation sucks. I always take a very deep breath before pressing "Submit" on expensive ticket purchases for this reason.

@Pawnee
Thanks, I am going to have a Google in a bit.

@PawneeParksDeptdone!

I’m not sure why so many people aren’t paying attention but the issue the OP is facing is because of some VERY specific rules in place for Hamilton. To stop reselling and touting.

Ticketmaster are a pain, but the rules on this one are very clear. I would contact them and ask to reallocate the cards to your DH’s card. It seems that would work.

I would be happy for all gigs and shows to work like this tbh. I’d also sell all tickets for oversubscribed gigs etc by equal ballot, rather than first come first served.

Whoops @PawneeParksDept. Done!😂😂

I went last week and I couldn't have got my tickets then given them to someone. I had to queue to go in, show my ID and my confirmation email, then hand over my credit card, that went in a machine and the tickets were printed and then we had to go straight in.