When a South Florida race fan found herself unable to use tickets she’d spent thousands on, she listed them online. The tickets sold right away,...
When a South Florida race fan found herself unable to use tickets she’d spent thousands on, she listed them online. The tickets sold right away, but weeks went by, and she didn’t get the payment. That’s when she called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Marcie Cruz is a big Formula One fan.
Marcie Cruz: “The cars and how close they get to each other, it makes my anxiety, you know.”
Her husband is a big fan of supporting what makes her happy. So when they got the chance to take a trip and catch a race with friends, they jumped on it.
Marcie Cruz: “We were going to go for about a week to enjoy Mexico City and then go to the race.”
Marcie spent $3,700 hundred dollars on the tickets.
Marcie Cruz: “I like it, I follow it, I watch the series, so I was really, really looking forward to it.”
But something came up. They couldn’t make the trip and had to cancel. Marcie decided to list her tickets online and hoped to break even.
With the race just days away, it felt like a long shot.
Marcie Cruz: “I figured what are the chances that I’m going to be able to sell them, because you have to be like in Mexico, or plan a trip to Mexico to get there, but somebody bought them.”
Marcie transferred the tickets and waited for her money.
Weeks went by, and she hadn’t been paid, so she started reaching out to the company that sold the tickets.
Marcie Cruz: “They didn’t really tell me what the problem was because if there’s a problem, we can fix it.”
There was a lot of back and forth, but no payout.
Marcie Cruz: “If you charged this person, then why am I not getting paid? You took their money, now you gotta give me my money.”
And that’s when she called us.
Marcie Cruz: “I don’t know what else to do, and I’m not just going to let go of $3,700.”
Howard, the tickets sold as fast as a race car, but her payment stalled out.
Howard Finkelstein: “Not paying after the tickets are sold is a breach of contract. They are required to send the money. If you are forced to go to arbitration, and you win, you may be able to get back any costs you had to spend.”
We reached out to the company that sold Marcie’s tickets. They told us the payment was temporarily held during a “standard compliance review.”
Turns out there was a mix-up with Marcie’s name. Once the information was updated, the company says, “We promptly processed the payout.”
They understood her frustration and told us, “We’ve also provided the seller with a voucher.”
Marcie can use that money to catch a race in the future.
Marcie Cruz: “Amazing, thank you so much. We would have never been able to get as far as we got without calling you guys.”
Howard says when you sell something online, double-check the information you provide is accurate. One little discrepancy can delay the whole process.
Got a problem and need a hand? Here’s how you find us below. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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