Sabrina Carpenter fan travelled 3,500 miles for concert - only to discover his ticket is fake
Chris Jones flew from London to Toronto for the gig after snapping up what he thought was a last minute resale to see his favourite singer.
A London superfan travelled more than 3,500 miles to see Sabrina Carpenter live — only to discover the $800 (£607) ticket he’d bought was fake when he reached the arena.
Chris Jones, 37, flew from London to Toronto on November 10 after snapping up what he thought was a last-minute resale ticket to see his favourite singer.
He bought the ticket on StubHub six days before the show and received what appeared to be a legitimate link to claim it the following day. Confident he was all set, he booked his flights — spending £2,000 on a return ticket.
But when he arrived at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, the nightmare began. The ticket he’d travelled across the Atlantic for didn’t match the ones held by fans around him. After asking a staff member to check, his worst fears were confirmed: the ticket was fake, and he wasn’t getting in.
Chris said: "My heart sunk upon the realisation that I had been scammed. I was gutted, confused and upset at the realisation I had flown 3,500 miles, spent £2,000 in flights, $800 on tickets and queued in the snow and I couldn’t see Sabrina."
A committed Sabrina Carpenter fan, Chris has followed the singer across Europe. "I am a huge fan of Sabrina and I love to travel. I saw her in Dublin, Zurich, Milan and Stockholm," he said. "I’ve heard great things about Canada and the Canadian people, which is why I opted to see her again in Toronto, rather than New York, for example."
He said the StubHub ticket initially looked convincing. "It looked perfectly legitimate at first glance with a QR code on and various codes along the top," Chris said.
Arriving five hours before the box office opened, he queued in the snow, hoping for a prime standing spot. But one glance at another fan’s ticket raised alarm bells.
"Upon going to the box office, the member of staff took one look at it and instantly said that it is not a valid ticket and it will not grant me access into the venue."
Chris contacted StubHub via live chat. "I had to argue with the chatbot and explain that it is, in fact, not a valid ticket, as has been confirmed by the venue. The whole experience has taught me not to risk buying from ticket marketplaces again."
Thankfully, he managed to secure a ticket for the following night’s show. "At least I got to see Sabrina Carpenter again! I also got to witness the first day of winter snowfall in Toronto, and I met some really nice people along the way."
He added: "If you can’t buy tickets during presale or general sale, then only buy from legitimate sites."
StubHub was contacted for comment.