Troubleshooters help NJ couple after concert tickets vanish from mobile app

MULLICA HILL, N.J. (WPVI) -- Getting tickets to one of the hottest concerts in town can be tricky and expensive.

So imagine the surprise of one Gloucester County, New Jersey couple when they bought coveted seats only to be turned away at the venue.

The couple found that the tickets in their app were gone and their paper tickets would not be accepted.

Cathy Carchidi of Mullica Hill paid $910 for her and her husband to see Pearl Jam at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

"I don't know what happened the day of concert. I have my paper tickets. I have the screenshot of my tickets, but there are no digital tickets in the Vivid Seats app. They're just gone," Carchidi said.

Carchidi said she took the ticket screenshots and paper copies to the box office but workers there said they couldn't help her.

"'We're not going to print anything for you and you can't get in and I suggest you call Vivid Seats,'" she recalled them telling her.

Carchidi called Vivid Seats but says it didn't help either. She said her husband, who is a big Pearl Jam fan and had never seen them live, was devastated.

"I mean it was just shut down," said Carchidi. "I mean, complete and utter shutdown and I was crying."

The Carchidis left without seeing the show, then turned to the Troubleshooters when they couldn't even get their money back.

"It's just so wonderful that your team reached out," she said.

Vivid Seats told the Troubleshooters it doesn't know why the tickets in Carchidi's app went missing but the tickets weren't accepted at the Wells Fargo Center "because the customer was trying to use printed screenshots of the tickets...(and) The tickets were sent with instructions .... that the customer would need to use a mobile device to gain entry to the event ...."

Vivid Seats also had good news for the Carchidis.

"They called me immediately from Vivid Seats and said we're refunding your total amount of money," she said.

Vivid Seats told the Troubleshooters "While the tickets were valid and delivered, we have provided a courtesy refund."

"It was absolutely unbelievable," she said. "We're thrilled, absolutely thrilled."

Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Wells Fargo Center, confirms the Carchidi's tickets were valid but their paper copies were not scannable because the tickets were mobile-only.

So two important points here: be aware many venues no longer accept paper tickets or paper QR codes.

Also be aware the Wells Fargo Center can't reissue tickets from third-party vendors like Vivid or StubHub but can help troubleshoot and reissue tickets purchased directly through Ticketmaster.