STUBHUB FINED FOR FAILING TO DISPLAY FULL TICKET PRICES

The Competition and Markets Authority has fined StubHub for not displaying the full price of tickets to customers before they completed their purchase. According to the CMA, the ticket reseller must refund approximately 50,000 customers and pay a financial penalty. The regulator found that StubHub showed an initial price that excluded fees, taxes and other charges until the final stage of the transaction.

The CMA's investigation established that consumers were unable to see the total cost they would pay until they had already entered their payment details. This practice contravenes consumer protection law, which requires traders to display prices transparently before customers commit to a purchase. StubHub operates as a secondary market for event tickets, allowing users to buy and sell tickets for concerts, sports fixtures and theatre performances.

The CMA confirmed that StubHub must implement changes to display full prices at the earliest stage of the purchasing process. The regulator stated that the refunds must be issued to affected customers. The penalty underscores the CMA's enforcement action against hidden charges and pricing practices that prevent consumers from making fully informed purchasing decisions before checkout.