StubHub has been hit with an £889,200 fine by the UK’s competition watchdog for failing to display additional fees on tickets until customers reached the checkout stage.
The prominent live event ticket marketplace is also mandated to refund over 50,000 customers, with an average payout of £10.33 each.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initiated an investigation into StubHub as part of a broader effort to tackle illegal and unfair online pricing practices.
The watchdog discovered that StubHub was employing an unlawful method known as “drip pricing.”
This practice can lead fans to be unexpectedly burdened with extra charges, preventing them from accurately comparing prices across different sellers.
Between 5 April and 7 December 2025, certain customers were required to pay mandatory costs, including delivery and service fees, when purchasing tickets on the platform.
However, the CMA found these charges were only applied at the final stage of the checkout process, rather than being presented upfront at the beginning of the transaction.
Emma Cochrane, 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.”
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StubHub will contact the 51,350 fans about their refund which will be automatically repaid onto the card used to purchase their tickets.
The company immediately took steps to end the practice and worked with the CMA during its investigation, the watchdog said.
It also admitted to breaking the law and agreed to settle the case early, meaning it qualified for a 40 per cent reduction on the fine.
The CMA is also investigating rival secondary ticket website Viagogo over concerns about hidden fees and will share an update later in the summer.
The regulator has been probing eight companies in total since November last year over their online pricing practices.
An investigation by the CMA forced Ticketmaster to make numerous changes, including fans joining online queues will be shown the full range of ticket prices, receive regular updates as cheaper seats sell out and buyers will also be informed at least 24 hours before a sale begins if tiered pricing is in effect.
