PHOENIX — A Valley senior says technology left him and his buddy outside the gates of State Farm Stadium last night, listening to the Rolling Stones Concert, instead of being inside rocking out.
Chuck Doxon drove in from San Diego to go to the Stones Concert with his buddy Charles Warner, who’s from Mesa.
The tickets were purchased online and required the use of a smartphone to redeem them. Problem was, neither guy owns a smartphone.
12 News had a chance to figure out the facts in this case. And how you can avoid the same fate before you get to the concert gate.
"I saw Paul McCartney and said, What’s next?' He says, 'the Rolling Stones,'” said Chuck Doxon.
For Doxon, these printed out receipts leave little comfort in the wake of Monday night’s Rolling Stones Concert. The tickets were purchased online through StubHub using what’s called a mobile transfer ticket process.
This StubHub YouTube video takes you through a somewhat complicated process. “If you print out the ticket you will not get in gates.”
Chuck who’s in his 70’s said he had no idea that a smartphone was involved.
"The funds were there. They were in. We paid for them. We had verification through the paperwork. And so, off we went,” said Doxon.
But when Chuck and Charles got to the stadium, the troubles began.
"She says we do not have your tickets. I said what do you mean? It’s a mobile transfer ticket and they haven’t sent it to us. Oh my God, we were screaming, what, what, what,” said Doxon.
The Rolling Stones concert was not an event with only mobile tickets available. Forty percent of tickets scanned that night were paper tickets. Hard tickets were printed for fans with mobile tickets that were having issues when the box office could verify the ownership of the tickets.
As for Chuck Doxon, he says missing the Rolling Stones concert was pretty frustrating but he hopes others can learn from what he went through.
"We are upset and we’re fighting, and we want people to know that this can happen to them," said Doxon.
StubHub spokesperson Aimee Campbell said Doxon spoke with the company and was given a full refund.
“StubHub has our customers’ backs, and in the rare instances where something goes wrong, every transaction is 100% guaranteed. In this case, we are thankful to NBC12 and Mr. Doxon for bringing this matter to our attention. For the inconvenience, we have fully refunded Mr. Doxon and look forward to serving him in the future. We advise customers to review the type of tickets that they are purchasing before they click buy and if they have any issues, they should contact us for support as our team are always happy to help," Campbell said.
It's a warning for anyone without a smartphone, that technology isn’t going to give you any breaks and just might leave you behind.
Editor's note: 12 News has updated a previous version of this story with new information from State Farm Stadium.
