Turn to Ted gets resident $3,700 refund for Astroworld Festival tickets that didn't arrive in time

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- More than a month after the Astroworld Festival was canceled amidst tragedy, would-be concert goer Mario Garza still didn't have a refund. But unlike a lot of people who went to the show and wanted refunds after the cancellation, Garza told ABC13's Turn to Ted team he never even got the tickets he paid thousands for before the festival started.

As Garza looks back on it, he admits it may be a good thing he never got the Astroworld tickets he paid so much for.

"I was like in a way happy that I didn't go, you know," Garza said.

But that's only after we all knew how it ended. Garza and his sister went to the last Astroworld in 2019. They said they wanted to get back, but wanted to avoid the crowd.

"From the last experience that I had, I knew there was a lot of bumping, a lot of pushing. It was very crowded. I tried to go with the VIP, the more expensive ones, so I wouldn't be in the crowd," Garza told Oberg.

Garza told us he checked several resale sites before finding those top level VIP seats at TicketsOnSale.com in early May, but they came at a steep price of $3,726. Garza showed ABC13 receipts showing he paid for overnight delivery. He still has a Tickets On Sale email showing the tickets should arrive around four days before the Nov. 5, 2021, show, but as the date got closer than that, still no tickets.

"And then the day of the event came and they said they're going to get here by 5 (o'clock)," he said.

But the first day of Astroworld would be well underway by then.

Garza and his sister went to the mall that day. They didn't even know what happened until the next morning. While thankful they weren't there, Garza still wanted his money back for tickets he didn't receive. He told us the company that had been telling him to watch his mailbox now wasn't telling him anything. So, he Turned to Ted.

"My father's the one that suggested to call you guys," Garza said.

We got in touch with Tickets on Sale through their attorney, who told us:

• Garza tried to cancel the sale months before the show, but his credit card company wouldn't allow it.
• Tickets on Sale says there was a problem with the actual ticket supplier (which isn't Tickets on Sale) sending Garza the tickets.
• The lawyer said it was because an address change. Garza says his address didn't change.
• The lawyer also told us the credit card company wouldn't process the refund because the card had been cancelled. Garza did cancel it after losing the card.
• The lawyer said the PayPal account Garza then provided for the refund didn't work either. Garza says there should have been no issue.

Once the Turn to Ted team reached out to Tickets on Sale, the issues cleared up quickly. Garza was refunded his money and Tickets On Sale gave him nearly $1,000 extra to buy future tickets.

"They gave me the money the next day, like straight up the next day. Everything. I've been calling for weeks," Garza said.

ABC13 checked the Better Business Bureau rating for the Tickets on Sale. BBB gives Tickets On Sale an F rating. There were 545 complaints in the last three years with 302 of them having been resolved. ABC13 asked the company's lawyer about the rating, but he did not respond.

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