StubHub UK fined almost £900,000 over ‘hidden’ ticket fees

The online ticket reseller StubHub UK has been fined almost £900,000 and ordered to make payments to more than 50,000 fans for not showing the full price of tickets at the time of booking, an illegal practice known as “drip pricing” . The UK competition watchdog, which launched an investigation into the sales practices of eight companies including the rival reseller Viagogo UK last year, said StubHub must issue refunds exceeding £590,000 to customers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the average refund for the 51,350 customers it identified who had a “hidden fee” added at the end of the online ticket buying process was about £10.33 for each transaction. The CMA also fined StubHub £889,200 for infringing consumer protection law. Emma Cochrane, the executive director of consumer protection at the CMA, said: “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.” The CMA investigated the experience of fans buying tickets for gigs and sports events on StubHub and found that between 6 April and 7 December last year some were required to pay mandatory costs such as delivery and service fees. These fees were added at the final stage of the checkout process and were not included in the price shown at the start, which broke consumer law. …