Caught between vendor and bank, Kentucky mom waits for late son's Rolling Stones refund

Virginia Flood hoped when Ticketmaster notified her in July that it would refund the tickets her late son bought to the now-canceled Rolling Stones concert in Louisville.

Months later, after multiple calls to her son’s bank and a half dozen emails to Ticketmaster, she was still waiting.

“I really don’t know what to do next,” Flood told Reader’s Watchdog in late October. “I had lots of people tell me I should just eat that money, and I’m like, ‘No. I’m not giving up.’”

The Breckenridge County, Kentucky mother has spent the last year settling her son Jason Flood’s estate since his death at age 46 in September 2020. It's been challenging, particularly during the pandemic.

She said concert tickets, which cost about $350, are one of the few remaining items left to resolve.

A huge music buff, Jason Flood bought two tickets in February 2020 to the Rolling Stones concert set for June 2020 at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.

Related: Why a Louisville couple had to wait 17 months for Rolling Stones ticket refunds

The concert was delayed indefinitely amid the spread of the coronavirus, and when the famed British rock band announced its rescheduled U.S. tour in July 2021, Louisville wasn't on the list.

Ticketmaster automatically issued refunds to Louisville ticket holders’ original payment method, worrying Flood. She had closed her son’s Capital One credit card account in late 2020.

After emailing the ticketing company, a generic reply informed her if the credit or debit card number had changed but the account was the same, the refund would still process automatically.

But in her case, on closed accounts, Ticketmaster pointed her to the bank.

“… We recommend you check with your banking institution or credit card company (who are holding your funds) to make arrangements with them to receive your funds,” reads an email the company sent to Flood.

She said a Capital One representative in late July told her the bank would mail her the refund once it received it from Ticketmaster. They took her mailing address and phone number and told her to watch for a white envelope.

“I was told there’d be no problem,” she said. “I quit worrying about it once I talked to her.”

In mid-August, Flood again called Capital One, and a representative said they saw no sign of a refund.

When she called again in September, the bank told Flood it had rejected the refund because her late son’s account was closed. She’d have to get it from the merchant, she said she was told.

Back she went to Ticketmaster, emailing the company about half a dozen times since September.

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She received similar replies repeating information she already knew, pointing her back to the bank, according to emails reviewed by Reader’s Watchdog.

“Don’t worry, if we find that there is an issue processing your refund, one of our Fan Support Representatives will reach out to you directly to resolve the issue,” reads a line in the email messages Flood received.

“Nobody’s ever reached out,” she said. “I just keep getting these generic replies. I think if you could just talk to somebody at Ticketmaster, it would make a world of difference.”

Securing her refund

Reader’s Watchdog did get ahold of a Ticketmaster consumer support specialist and explained Flood’s situation.

After receiving the Reader’s Watchdog email — and over a month since Flood started emailing — Ticketmaster finally responded to Flood, telling her the company considered the matter settled.

It had issued the $350.80 credit on July 31 and showed no bounce back.

The representative gave Flood the unique number associated with Ticketmaster’s transaction with the bank and told her to give the number to Capital One.

“…They can reach out to the financial institution that has the funds and work out a possible way to acquire the funds,” the representative wrote to Reader’s Watchdog in an email.

Reader’s Watchdog then contacted Capital One seeking resolution to Flood’s dilemma, and while a spokesperson wouldn’t discuss her case specifically, citing privacy concerns, Flood received a phone call from the bank Nov. 4.

“When Capital One is notified that one of its customers is deceased, it will work with the personal representative of that customer's estate to resolve any outstanding issues with the account,” said a spokesperson in an emailed statement.

Flood said the bank offered little explanation, but she was assured that a refund check would soon be mailed to her home.

"I’m optimistic right now," she said. "I’m in a lot better shape than I was in."

Though it's a small thing, Flood said, crossing the tickets off her list brings her son's financial affairs closer to being settled.

As for the unused tickets, affixed to her son's refrigerator when he died, Flood said she plans to keep them.

She's still deciding what to do with his vast collection of records, radios, phonographs and other musical equipment. Those things he loved, she said, are hard to part with.

Matthew Glowicki’s Reader's Watchdog column helps readers get answers and holds public officials, businesses and individuals to account. Contact him at watchdog@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4989 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KY mom caught between Ticketmaster, bank for Rolling Stones refund