StubHub UK to refund 50,000 customers after hidden ticket fees investigation
The ticket resale platform was additionally fined £900,000 by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
StubHub UK has been fined £900,000 by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) over its failure to disclose hidden ticket fees to customers. The company has also been ordered to refund 50,000 customers, with the total cost of repayment coming to over £590,000, averaging around £10 per transaction.
An investigation by the CMA, which focused on transactions between 6th April and 7th December 2025, found that the resale platform did not show customers the full ticket price upfront, which is required by law. Instead mandatory fees were added later in the process, which is known as “drip pricing”.
Drip pricing, which was banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 , obscures the true final price and makes it more difficult for customers to accurately compare prices, potentially leading them to complete purchases they might otherwise have avoided.
According to the CMA’s report on gov.uk , StubHub UK cooperated with the investigation, admitted breaching consumer law, and agreed to settle early in exchange for a 40% reduction in its financial penalty to avoid court proceedings.
The BBC reports that StubHub International said the issue was caused by an “isolated platform error”, adding in a statement: “Our UK platform is designed to display all fees upfront.”
Emma Cochrane, Executive Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA, commented: “Hitting customers with hidden fees is illegal. It’s not fair to draw people in with what looks like a good deal, only for them to find the real price is higher when they get to the checkout due to extra charges that can’t be avoided.
“Going to a live gig or sports game is an event many people save for, and our action today means thousands of fans will get back money taken unfairly through hidden fees.
“Our message to businesses is simple: be transparent on costs or risk CMA action.”
Customers eligible for a refund will be contacted directly by StubHub UK and do not need to take any action. The amount repaid to individuals will vary depending on how much they paid in fees, the average payout will reportedly be around £10 per transaction.
In 2019, Ticketmaster was fined $4.5 million over misleading ticket prices, while last year, it was sued together with Live Nation by the FTC over alleged unlawful ticket resale practices.
Earlier this month, StubHub launched FestProtect , a new festival cancellation compensation platform to offer support in the event of disruptions, weather-related cancellations, or extended queue times.
In November last year, the UK government announced plans to ban the resale of live event tickets above face value .
In January this year, a new “ethical” ticket resale platform, Tickets9 , was launched in partnership with Music Venue Trust.
