The Show Must Go On, But Can You Get A Refund?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — When a Sacramento man struggled to get a refund for concert tickets after the headlining bands changed, he decided to call Kurtis.

Robert Murphy loves going to concerts, so when he found out that one of his favorite musicians, Billy Idol, was playing at the Golden 1 Center with Journey in a few months, he jumped on the tickets.

Unfortunately, two weeks ago Billy Idol announced that he needed sinus surgery and would have to back out of the tour. Instead, his Twitter post said, Toto would be performing in his place.

Having already seen Toto, Robert asked Ticketmaster for a refund and was refused.

"I kind of feel that I'm getting ripped off here," he said. "If I paid to see a musician and that musician isn't available, I would expect to get my money back."

That got us wondering: if several bands are on the ticket and one drops off, are you owed a refund?

We checked out Ticketmaster's terms and conditions online, which only address what happens if entire events are cancelled, and not a performer. Technically, the tour will still be stopping at the Golden 1 Center.

We reached out to Ticketmaster for clarification but received no response.

However, after reviewing Ticketmaster's website and hearing Robert's story, a contract attorney said they believe a full refund would be owed. This is because of a legal term known as adhesion, which would suggest that if one of the two bands playing changed, it would no longer be the same event that tickets were purchased for.

After we reached out to Ticketmaster, Robert tells us he was issued a full refund.