A South Jersey family who purchased tickets to a World Cup match months ago thought they were headed to the game without a problem. Then, just one day before kickoff, they learned their tickets were gone. The Aumiller family bought four tickets to Friday night’s match between Haiti and Brazil i n Philadelphia for a total of $1,156 as a Hanukkah gift back in November. “When I bought them, I didn’t know that Brazil was playing,” said Mira Aumiller. But on Thursday, the family received an email from StubHub informing them that their seller could not deliver the original tickets. As part of the company’s Fan Protect Guarantee, they said they were offered a refund or comparable seats.   “So, I click the link, and the only option was a refund. And my heart sank,” Mira Aumiller said. “I did not want the refund. I could not imagine telling my kids. I was crying at work.” According to the family, StubHub told them no comparable replacement tickets were available because ticket prices had increased dramatically since they purchased them. “One ticket was hundreds more than my four tickets,” Mira Aumiller said. In other words, the family says seats for the match were still available for purchase, but replacement tickets were not being offered because they said StubHub representatives told them current prices were significantly higher than what they originally paid. Desperate to find a solution, Eli Aumiller reached out to NBC10 Responds through social media. “I was texting NBC10 people on Instagram DMs,” he said. After NBC10 contacted StubHub for answers, the situation quickly changed. “An hour or so later, the tickets appeared. And all of a sudden, there were replacement tickets,” Eli Aumiller said. “I don’t think it magically happened. I think it’s because they’re trying to avoid bad publicity.” In a statement, StubHub said it “secured replacement tickets for the family” and added that “many of the issues fans are facing trace back to the event organizer’s technology infrastructure.” The company explained that the family had a ticket transfer issue, “meaning the tickets could not successfully get delivered to the fan due to technical issues on the event organizer’s side.” StubHub said customers are protected through its policy of providing either replacement tickets or a refund. While the Aumillers ultimately received tickets to attend the Philadelphia match, they said the experience left them frustrated. “I’m glad it worked out for us, but I would never rely on them again [for] something that I was … relying on my tickets to be available,” said Aaron Aumiller. He noted that several people traveled from all over the country as well as the world and faced a similar issue.  Industry observers say situations like this may be tied to what is known as speculative ticketing. The practice involves sellers agreeing to sell tickets months in advance and then backing out if ticket values rise significantly before the event. “Sellers aren’t filling the tickets and StubHub’s not making it right by filling the tickets themselves,” said Scott Friedman, co-founder and host of Ticket Talk Network. Friedman said on his social media pages, he’s heard a similar story to the Aumillers “thousands” of times. He said often, the only time to rectify the situation is to amplify the story on local or social media.  For the Aumiller family, the issue ended with replacement tickets and a chance to attend the match. But they hope other fans don’t find themselves facing a similar situation just before a major event. Consumer experts recommend documenting all communications, saving emails and screenshots, and escalating complaints immediately if tickets do not arrive as promised. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less