This site advised me there were tickets spare and I was the first in the queue with a whole line of potential buyers queued behind me. To one side of the screen, was a ticking timer counting down the seconds until my tickets would be released to the next buyer.
Numbers have the ability to throw me into a panic at the best of times and with this ticking timebomb it was the School C maths exam all over again. I was perfect bait.
The price was considerably higher than what I had expected but, from what I could make out with my frantic Google search of the stadium, the seats seemed to be better than average. I decided, if this was what everyone else was paying, then I would just have to pay it too.
I'm not a fan of shopping and usually fall into the all-or-nothing approach: a big, impulsive shopping spree followed by a case of the major guilts and then not going near the shops for another month. This was definitely the case.
Something in the back of my mind was bugging me but I caught sight of the ticking countdown again and, before I had time to process what it was, handed over my credit card details. The transaction went through, along with a hefty booking fee, which bumped the price up further.
I had tickets to Ed Sheeran! But, within seconds, my elation was replaced with dread as I finally listened to that niggling feeling and researched the site; There were warnings galore about the dodgy site Viagogo. I felt sick.
I contacted my bank, who advised there was nothing they could do if I had authorised the payment, although they could cancel my card.
Meanwhile, friends were all gaining (legit) tickets and posting their joy online. I felt miserable and removed myself from any social media for the rest of the day. I would not be going. From what I had read, Viagogo would post the tickets no later than three days before the event. If they arrived, they might not be legit and, if they were valid, they probably wouldn't be for the location paid for. I wasn't holding my breath.
Meanwhile, I had to break it to my partner what I had done. As far as I was concerned, the punishment for my stupidity, besides being deeply out of pocket, was not going, but he felt so sorry for me he purchased tickets through Ticketmaster, at the much more decent price, for the following Sunday night.
So, for the last 10 months it has been up in the air as to whether we were going Saturday, Sunday or both. I had written off that $700 and, instead of looking forward to the concert, had been dreading the weekend and then, this week, I received an 'Urgent action is required' email from Viagogo. It stated that the seller was not able to provide the tickets and I could opt for alternative tickets at no charge, plus a voucher, or a refund.
This time, before I hit any buttons, I did my research. Well I tried to but couldn't find any advice as to what to do so eventually hit Refund. Apparently, they will refund the full amount by week's end. Although my bank tells me they are likely to follow through as they have been sticking to their word of late due to the amount of bad publicity, again, I'm not holding my breath.
I may still be out of pocket, but am finally looking forward to tomorrow's concert. After all the hoo-ha, I will make damn-sure to enjoy this experience. Ed Sheeran, here we come!
