UPDATE (as of Monday, February 10 at 5 p.m. EST):
Vivid Seats commented on the BBB’s “No Rating.”
“It is our goal that every customer has a positive experience when buying tickets from Vivid Seats, because earning the trust of millions of customers is how we were named one of America’s best companies for customer service,” a Vivid Seats spokesperson said to TicketNews in an emailed statement. “We look forward to talking with the Chicago BBB to address its concerns because complaints to the BBB about Vivid Seats represent a very small fraction of one percent in the context of our millions of customers. Though a small number, we value each customer, which is why our team responds to every single customer complaint they find in order to seek a resolution. Many of the customers who posted on the BBB’s page have since had their issues satisfactorily resolved by our team.”
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Secondary ticketing site Vivid Seats had its A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau dropped due to recent complaints from customers.
The Chicago-based company, located in the West Loop, has more than 900 complaints with the BBB over the past three years, due to problems like billing and ticket delivery issues. Originally, the ticketer had an A-Plus rating, but the rating has since been taken down. The rating was reportedly removed after Chicago CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman looked into the case of Christine and Gary Waller.
The Wallers contacted the news organization after they failed to get a refund for Cubs tickets they paid for but never received. Gary told CBS 2 that he tried to purchase tickets at Wrigley Field for a “fun family outing” last summer and bought tickets through Vivid Seats. After paying $445, Gary received a confirmation for his four tickets, and ahead of the game, he waited to receive his tickets, but they never arrived. Instead, he brought the confirmation of payment to the game, but the family was denied entry at the gate since they did not have tangible tickets. Even when a box office representative tried to help Gary retrieve tickets with help from a Vivid customer service representative, they were unsuccessful.
When the family arrived home, they called the company to try and negotiate a refund and “couldn’t get anywhere.” Then, after the bank initially refunded Gary’s money, they ultimately changed their mind due to Vivid’s objections, which caused the family to bounce some checks.
Following the incident, CBS 2 reached out to President and CEO of the BBB, Steve Bernas. Originally, Vivid Seats had an A-Plus rating – the highest rating a company could have on the site – until the news organization reached out. Bernas told CBS that the BBB have taken away Vivid Seats’ rating for the time being.
“We have currently put them on ‘No Rating’ while they investigate the complaints and Vivid Seats responds to them,” he told CBS. “We’re making certain that there are no types of patterns of complaints or issues that we’re aware of.”
The Wallers have been approved for a refund and received a gift card for Cubs tickets this summer. A representative from Vivid Seats said there was a “technology issue” which led to the Wallers’ inability to transfer the tickets. A spokesperson from the company noted that the complaints on the BBB are just a small percentage compared to the millions of tickets it sells each year.
TicketNews reached out to Vivid Seats for a comment regarding their current “No Rating” on the BBB site.
