I (25F) paid a girl (26F, let’s call her Lara) to help me secure VIP concert tickets, but she failed and now refuses to refund me properly.

I met Lara in 2023 through an Instagram page where she offered ticketing services for overseas concerts. I’d been saving for this, and since I’d never traveled abroad or bought tickets like this before, I contacted her. Her service fee was $40, with a deal that if she failed to secure the ticket, she’d refund the ticket cost + $20, keeping $20 as non-refundable. She didn’t get me the ticket, but offered resale options. I agreed, paid more, and we ended up going to the concert (she went too, using a face value ticket she said she got last minute). We kept in touch in a group chat with a few others who also used her service, and over two years, we casually planned for the next concert.

In 2025, when the next concert was announced, Lara offered her service again, but her fee had gone up to $120. This time, the deal was: if she fails to secure the ticket, she refunds $80 and keeps $40. I agreed but made it clear I only wanted the $300 VIP ticket, not any other category. She said if she got a ticket I didn’t want, she’d keep it for herself and refund me. She also said she'd refund me in 3 days if she failed.
My plan was clear: if she could get me that ticket, I was okay paying more because at least I got it hassle-free. But if she couldn’t, I’d get the refund in 3 days and could buy from someone else.

After ticketing, she said VIPs were sold out but she secured a non-VIP ($200) ticket in my name. I told her I didn’t want it as per our agreement, and she should just take it for herself and refund me. She pushed back, saying she made a mistake, didn’t want to ruin our friendship, and her dad was sick so she is not sure if she can even go to concert. So she can't take the ticket from me. Eventually, she agreed to sell the ticket and refund me but said it would take time.

She sold the ticket at a loss (buyer refused to pay her full service charge), and I ended up losing $65. On top of that, the buyer only paid a small deposit, so I’m still $200 short and won’t get it until the concert day – meaning I can’t use that money to secure another ticket now. I'm seeing a lot of posts for tickets in my budget that I can easily get but she refuses to refund me as per our agreement.

What upsets me more is that Lara now says she’s looking for VIP tickets for herself since her dad is feeling better. On top of that, she’s acting like she’s doing me a favor by helping sell the ticket—like she’s going out of her way, when she’s the one who messed up the deal in the first place.

I’m not a confrontational person, and honestly I don’t even know how to handle this or how to talk to her about how wrong this was. I’ve just been quietly upset this whole time. When I talked to another girl in the group about her behavior, she said I might be the AH for expecting Lara to treat me differently just because we became friends. But Lara was the one who always acted friendly, involved me in planning, and made it seem like she cared and wanted to attend concert together as a group.

So… AITAH for being upset and expecting more accountability from her?