pinniped

The ticket control thing is one of the main reasons I avoid using a TA unless it's absolutely necessary. An example of when it's been necessary for me has been when none of my credit cards will work to purchase directly from the airline, and I need a TA to take my payment. (In these cases, I'm never 100% sure if it's the airline or all of my banks that are rejecting the charges.)

And when I do these, I just pray to God that I won't need to change the ticket in any way prior to arriving at the check-in counter.

I don't do "bucket shop", opaque, or other heavily-discounted TA-booked fares. I'm talking about just regular retail fares using some sort of major/reputable/stable TA. Usually on airlines I've never flown or rarely fly, so there's no elite status to save me...