Two sisters who really enjoy music, and they got an email about a world famous singer appearing in South Florida. They bought tickets but didn’t get what they expected. Do they deserve a refund? It’s why they called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
You often hear about families that don’t get along. Maybe they should meet these sisters.
Ellen Schatz: “We spend so much time together. We can practically live together.”
Lynn Lauder: “We have a date night every Saturday night.”
Lynn and Ellen enjoy alot of the same things, including music.
Everything from Elton John to Flo Rida to Shakira.
Ellen Schatz: “Yeah, I love Shakira. You know, I you know, I have one of her first albums.”
Then Ellen got an email from Ticketmaster, showing this: Tickets for sale for Shakira at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables.
Ellen Schatz: “OK. It said Shakira with a big picture of Shakira. Her name and nothing else on it, and I said, ‘Oh, OK. Shakira, Shakira is playing. Well, I owed Lynn a birthday present, and I know she loves Shakira, so I wanted to take her to see Shakira.
Ellen paid $174 for the two tickets.
They then went to what they thought was a concert.
Ellen Schatz: “I saw it said Billboard. That and and the phrase.”
Lynn Lauder?: “No, i just thought it. They were sponsoring it.”
Inside they were impressed…
Ellen Schatz?: “And where we were sitting, we were able to look down, and there were tables, and they were very, very nice dressed people.”
As they would find out, it wasn’t a Shakira concert, it was the Billboard Latin Women in Music awards show, and Shakira was the Woman of the Year.
Ellen Schatz?: “She didn’t sing at all. And she was only up there for like three or four minutes thanking people in Spanish for her award.”
Then they show ended.
They came to hear the artist they love sing. Didn’t happen.
Ellen Schatz?: “My issue, was with Ticketmaster for false advertising.”
Lynn Lauder?: “We thought she’d sing,and she was the one that was highlighted the most.”
Lynn went to work to get Ticketmaster to return Ellen’s $175.
She didn’t get what they wanted there either.
Lynn Lauder: “The venue is not going to return your money once you’ve already been to the show after the fact.”
They could have given up, but when you are full of life, and personality, you are also filled with determination.
Lynn Lauder?: “And I said to her, just out of the blue, I said, ‘You know Help Me Howard? Maybe we should do that.’”
They thought they were going to hear Shakira sing, instead they are singing the blues.
So Howard, do they get their money back?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Yes. In Florida, there is a specific law that bans false and misleading advertisements. This ad was misleading because it did not say it was an awards ceremony or a concert. It just showed Shakira who is known for singing. A reasonable person could assume this was a Shakira concert, and because of that, legally, Ellen and Lynn could get a refund.”
The first thing we noticed from a review of the show, Lynn and Ellen were not the only people who were unhappy.
This ticket buyer wrote very misleading advertising and experience as you sold it as a concert with Shakira
We contacted Ticketmaster, explained what happened, and they took care of it.
Two days later, Ellen got her $174 back from the event that was supposed to be Lynn’s birthday present.
Ellen: “As I told Lynn, ‘Now I can buy you another birthday present.’ Hopefully one that will stick, and that’s why I am happy.”
Happy for an upcoming present, -and who knows, maybe one day seeing Shakira sing.
Lynn Lauder: “So hopefully we will get to see her. I would really like to see her.”
Put Ellen and Lynn together and they could put on their own show.
Now, how do you know an ad is misleading? In most cases, you don’t until it’s too late. And getting your money back isn’t easy, which is why we are here.
Someone putting on a show that’s not entertaining you? Need to get in concert with someone to find a solution? Get on stage with us. We don’t want an award, just see you get rewarded.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
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