Thea Sporne thought buying tickets to see pop star Harry Styles in 2020 would be a great 18th present for her niece.
Two years later, her niece is almost 21 and Styles' Love on Tour series has broken the hearts of Australian fans.
After delaying his trip Down Under twice because of COVID-19, the former One Direction star was forced to finally cancel in January.
"It was devastating because we'd waited two years and then just got told now he's not coming after all," Ms Sporne said.
Ms Sporne's credit card expired between buying the tickets and the concert getting cancelled so her refund could not be automatically processed.
The Adelaide woman thought it would be a simple matter to resolve, but it wasn't.
Ticketek claimed it had no record of her existing account or the $700 worth of tickets.
Ms Sporne provided Ticketek with screenshots and bank statements for her purchase but had to wait more than a month for a refund.
For weeks, she feared she was getting the run-around.
Ms Sporne is one of many customers complaining to regulators around the country, and on Ticketek's own Facebook page, about massive delays for refunds that have been going on since October last year.
Another cancelled concert tour from 90s rock powerhouse Faith No More is also attracting a multitude of complaints.
Ticketek told the ABC in a statement that it was processing 20 times more refunds than before the pandemic.
"Our teams are working around the clock with additional resources and technology to resolve outstanding refunds as quickly as they can," a spokesperson said.
Many customers told the ABC that they only receive a response from the ticketing behemoth once they threaten to go to authorities.
"The main thing that upsets me is the fact that I just keep getting automated replies," Ms Sporne said.
"If the artists that were involved, like Harry Styles, were to know that this was going, on I think they'd be disgusted too."
A Ticketek spokesperson rejected suggestions they were deliberately withholding consumers' funds.
"Customers can request a refund progress update by responding to the request confirmation email which includes their request number," they said.
Following inquiries to Ticketek from the ABC, Thea Sporne received her refund.
"Others, sadly, are still not so lucky," she said.
Ticketek most complained about
Data from the NSW Office of Fair Trading complaints register shows Ticketek was in the top three most complained about businesses in the state in October, November and December 2021, with 75 complaints all up.
Ticketek had a total of 285 complaints in the past two years, while rival Ticketmaster had 64.
Erin Turner from consumer group Choice said businesses were obligated to give refunds within a reasonable period of time and failing to do so could be breaking consumer laws.
"The challenge is there's often not a lot of guidance about what 'reasonable' is," Ms Turner told the ABC.
"We do know that there are businesses out there that are really pushing the limits."
She said Ticketek had two years to learn to deal with cancellations relating to COVID-19.
"Ticketek is a large business. It should have processes and systems in place," she said.
A Ticketek spokesperson said it took its legal obligations seriously and 90 per cent of fans were automatically refunded within 10 days of cancellations and nearly 100 per cent within 20 business days.
"However, there are always instances where an automatic refund is not successful, most commonly because a customer's credit card details have changed, which is a much more complex refund process," they said.
Ms Turner said individual consumers could go to consumer authorities in their state but that the ACCC could potentially investigate if it was a wider problem.
ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said the regulator was aware of the issues and had engaged with Ticketek.
"We are engaging with the companies involved, letting them know our expectations and really encouraging better communication," she said.
"When we engage, we tend to see improvements in behaviour."
17th birthday becomes three-year disaster
Britt Knight bought tickets to the Backstreet Boys in January 2020 as a 17th birthday present for her sister, Jordyn.
The Melbourne concert was delayed due to COVID-19 but by the time the band rescheduled for a second time late last year to March 2023, the pair decided they would like a refund instead.
"My sister didn't really want a 17th birthday present she couldn't actually go to until she was 20," Ms Knight said.
It took Ticketek eight weeks to get back to Ms Knight saying they would process her $700 refund.
"Then I kept getting emails saying they didn't have evidence I purchased tickets," she said.
"Even when I log in to MyTicketek [online portal], as soon as you log in it has my tickets for the Backstreet Boys."
Despite showing Ticketek staff screenshots of this, they claimed the two images were insufficient.
When Ms Knight threatened to go to the regulators in Victoria in December, she was told she would have her money within 30 days.
She has now been waiting more than two months.
"I gave them all my new bank details, so it's not to do with the card," she said.
A spokesperson for Ticketek said: "We can confirm that all of the customers named in the ABC's coverage requested to have their refunds paid to their bank account rather than the credit card they used, which takes more time, but that each of those customers was refunded within 20 business days of providing their bank account details."
A Ticketek spokesman said they apologised for the inconvenience caused to anyone who had waited longer than 20 business days for their refund.
"Everybody who has requested a legitimate refund can rest assured that they will receive it as soon as we are able to process their request in full," they said.
