StubHub Ordered to Refund $1.2M to 50,000 Buyers in the UK

Photo Credit: Samuel Regan-Asante

StubHub UK has been fined over a million dollars and ordered to make payments to more than 50,000 customers over “hidden” ticket fees.

StubHub UK has been fined nearly £900,000 (~$1.2 million) and ordered to issue refunds to more than 50,000 customers for not disclosing the final price of tickets at the time of booking.

Last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK competition watchdog, launched an investigation into the sales practices of eight companies, including ticket resellers StubHub and Viagogo.

The average refund for the 51,350 affected customers will be about £10.33 for each transaction in which a “hidden fee” was added at the end of the online ticket buying process. The CMA also fined StubHub £889,200 for violating consumer protection law. Notably, that penalty included a 40% reduction because StubHub admitted to breaking the law and chose to settle the case.

“Hitting customers with hidden fees is illegal,” said Emma Cochrane, executive director of consumer protection at the CMA. “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.”

The CMA investigation found that between April 6 and December 7, 2025, some fans buying tickets for events on StubHub were required to pay mandatory costs such as delivery and service fees. Those fees were added at the final stage of the checkout process and were not included in the price shown at the beginning, violating consumer law.

“Our message to businesses is simple: be transparent on costs or risk CMA action,” Cochrane added. “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.”

According to StubHub, the hidden fees were the result of an “isolated platform error,” and not part of its business model. The company says it has since fixed the issue.

“StubHub International supports the CMA’s work to protect consumers online and fully cooperated with this investigation. Our platform is designed to display all fees upfront,” said a StubHub spokesperson. “Due to an isolated platform error, some minor fees appeared at checkout rather than earlier in the buying process. We identified and corrected the issue promptly, and all affected customers will receive an automatic refund.”

Meanwhile, the CMA said its investigation into StubHub rival Viagogo was still ongoing, and it expects to issue an update sometime this summer.