Treating her dad to see his favourite band turned into quite a performance for a loving daughter and then, having paid twice amid the mayhem, there was the matter of a refund. 

Karen Lewis was on a high when earlier last year she booked two tickets costing £96 for dad Alan and herself to see The Manfreds, formed 25 years ago by members of 60s British pop group Manfred Man. “My dad’s been a fan since the beginning, got all their vinyl and is still fit enough to enjoy a live gig so this was our chance,” Karen told Crusader.

If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on maisha.frost@express.co.uk

But after that seizing-the-moment high and thinking everything was done and dusted, just days before the big night Karen was left reeling. Making sense of anything after that was almost beyond her, she recalls.

 “I was told the tickets were ready and downloaded Ticketmaster’s app as instructed. But then the sign came up ‘tickets cancelled’. I was so shocked. When I called I was told that had happened back in May because of a change of venue and I should have received an email and a refund.

 “I hadn’t seen this – although I did spot a £4 credit pop up, but had no idea what that was for and, wrongly in retrospect, didn’t check or follow it up.

“I felt sick I was so disappointed and this was just a day before the gig. But I didn’t want to disappoint my dad until I absolutely had to, so I just focussed on getting new tickets. It was a rush.”

But just as Karen was allowing herself a moment of calm congratulation, yet another email arrived. This one had new tickets and less good, different seats further back in the venue.

“My head was spinning,” she adds. “I decided to stick with what we already had and we had a wonderful time. Ticketmaster was very positive when I asked about my refund and explained all the contradictory instructions. But weeks have now gone by and am still waiting.” 

And now applause for Ticketmaster. After Crusader told them of Karen’s struggles they came back a day later with an apology and the money and a gift card.

“Following a venue change all ticket holders were emailed in July and automatically reseated with a £4 price readjustment for [Karen],” said a  spokesperson. “Unfortunately our customer support agent mistakenly advised that her original booking had been cancelled. We do apologise for this error.”

“I will keep a closer check on messages and thank you Crusader for getting me heard,” responded Karen. “The most important thing is it came right on the night, so it was all worth it in the end.”

[Names have been changed]