NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After two years of rescheduling, a Middle Tennessee woman wants her Rod Stewart concert tickets at Bridgestone refunded.
It was January 2020 when Beth Pender ordered four tickets to the concert at Bridgestone Arena for August of that year. Pender paid $1,100 for the tickets, including all of the fees.
When the pandemic hit, the concert was rescheduled to August of 2021. It wasn't a problem, Pender said she understood the situation.
"With COVID, naturally it was rescheduled," Pender said. "So, we just left everything the way it is because obviously our tickets were intact and that everything was okay. We just had to use the tickets when it was rescheduled."
However, last week, Pender got another email from Ticketmaster. The concert was being rescheduled again, this time to July 5, of 2022. Two and a half years after she ordered the tickets.
This message was in the email:
"Hello Elizabeth, Rod Stewart and Cheap Trick at Bridgestone Arena has been rescheduled. Your tickets for this are still valid and should be used for the rescheduled date and time. Because this event will take place, no refunds are being issued at this time."
"We're all up there in age and one of the gals is celebrating her 50th anniversary next year when the concert is supposed to take place and she won't be able to go," she said. "And so, we just want our money back."
Pender said she and her friends had planned to make a weekend of the concert. Now, with so many questions about if everyone can now make it, they'd like a refund.
She said when she contacted the Bridgestone Arena box office and then Ticketmaster, she was informed the tickets couldn't be refunded. Tickets are only refunded if a concert is cancelled, not if it's rescheduled. She says it feels wrong.
"They've had it and we've been waiting," she said. "But now that this has happened again, it's just not fair. We should be able to get our money back."
We've reached out to both Bridgestone and Ticketmaster about the issue, but haven't heard back yet.
Ticketmaster has the following policy listed on their website for rescheduled concerts:
If the event is postponed, rescheduled, or moved: your ticket(s) (including any additional add-ons or upgrades, such as parking) are still valid, and no further action is required. However, the Event Organizer may approve refunds, or the option to choose between a refund or a credit, for the event; any refund and/or credit policies are determined on an event-by-event basis by the Event Organizer, and may be subject to limitations set by the Event Organizer. If the Event Organizer approves refunds and/or credits, we will send you a notification explaining your options, and you may submit a request for a refund or credit. Alternatively, you may simply keep your ticket(s) to the postponed, rescheduled, or moved event.
