North Texas family falls victim to World Cup ticket issues

DALLAS - A North Texas family who bought tickets to last Sunday's World Cup match found out the day before the game that the ticket service they used no longer had their tickets for them.

What they're saying:

"You cannot imagine the down situation in the house."

Ardas Sabunchyan tells FOX 4's Shaun Rabb he bought tickets to Sunday's World Cup match between the Netherlands and Japan as a college graduation gift for his son Gregory.

Sabunchyan says he bought the tickets in March from a website called Viagogo, a StubHub partner. On Saturday before the match, Viagogo told Sabunchyan the tickets he originally purchased were not available.

"It's like an emotional thing. It's not a financial thing on my side," Sabunchyan said. 

"When you are given promises, when you are creating ties with your son, that you are going to spend a great time, and everybody's expecting that moment, and then you are saying, ‘Well son, there are no tickets available for this game.'"

Sabunchyan says Viagogo directed him to the website where tickets were available, but prices for Sunday's match were higher than he initially paid.

Dig deeper:

The Better Business Bureau gives Viagogo an F rating on their website. Monica Horton of the BBB expects more of these experiences to happen throughout the World Cup.

The company says to use the event or venue site for tickets, and if you do use unofficial ticketing sites, don't use peer-to-peer mobile payment apps.

"Use those forms of payment that have protections in place," Horton says. "Do your research before you purchase tickets on any ticket-selling website."

What's next:

StubHub tells FOX 4 they are working with Sabunchyan to offer him a refund or tickets to another World Cup match in North Texas.

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