StubHub has been instructed to reimburse numerous customers for failing to disclose mandatory fees upfront in the ticket prices.
The ticket reselling platform was found to engage in drip pricing, a practice where the final checkout price is higher than the initially displayed price due to additional unavoidable fees.
This practice is prohibited in the UK, mandating companies to show the total price before the checkout process. As a result, StubHub has been directed to refund over £590,000 to more than 50,000 fans. Additionally, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed a fine of nearly £900,000 on StubHub.
The CMA investigation revealed that StubHub omitted essential costs, such as delivery and service fees, between April 6 and December 7, 2025. These fees were added at the final stage of the checkout process, leading to an undisclosed total price from the beginning.
Emma Cochrane, Executive Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA, emphasized that concealing fees from customers is unlawful. The CMA’s action ensures that fans who were unfairly charged hidden fees will be refunded, with the average reimbursement expected to be around £10 per transaction. Affected individuals will receive automatic refunds from StubHub.
In response to the investigation, StubHub stated its support for the CMA’s consumer protection efforts and acknowledged an isolated platform error that caused some fees to appear at checkout instead of earlier in the buying process. The issue has been promptly rectified, and all impacted customers will receive refunds automatically.
