Ticketing platform StubHub has been fined less than £900,000 and ordered to refund more than 50,000 customers after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found it failed to show fans the full value of their tickets before they reached the checkout.
The watchdog ruled that StubHub UK breached consumer law by hiding mandatory charges, a practice known as “drag-down pricing”, where the attractive figure of a title rises when unavoidable extras such as delivery and service charges are tacked on. Between 6th April and 7th December 2025, fans who purchase through the site are charged one price only to be introduced to a higher price if mandatory fees appear later in the journey.
More than 50,000 customers are now in line for refunds totaling £590,000, with the average payment expected to be £10 per transaction. The CMA said StubHub will contact affected fans directly, so there is no need for consumers to identify themselves.
“Shooting customers for hidden fees is illegal,” said Emma Cochrane, senior director of consumer protection at the CMA. “It’s not fair to attract people with something that looks good, only to find out that the real price is higher when they get to the point of paying because of the extra costs that cannot be avoided.”
The company admitted to breaching the law and agreed to settle the case early, receiving a 40 percent reduction in its financial penalty. It should be noted that stubhub.co.uk is operated by Ticketbis SL and, to CMA’s insistence, it is not connected or linked to the US listed StubHub Holdings Inc.
The decision of StubHub is the latest sign that the CMA intends to use the muscles given to it under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Since April 2025, the regulator has been able to investigate suspected violations of consumer law and impose penalties directly, without first having to take urgent action to file a lawsuit.
The action against StubHub follows hot on the heels of the biggest ever fine for motoring giant AA, which was fined £4.2m and told to reimburse more than 80,000 learner drivers for hidden booking fees. Covert offenses of this nature are thought to be taking £2.2bn a year out of consumers’ pockets, and the CMA has made it clear it is only starting, having already opened investigations into eight other companies over their online pricing practices.
The rules themselves are simple enough. Any charge that the customer can’t realistically avoid, whether it’s a booking fee, service charge or delivery charge, should now be included in the displayed price rather than appearing on the bill. In the event and entertainment industry, where mandatory payments have long been part of the furniture, the message from the regulator will not be dull, as set out in its extensive consumer protection drive for internet prices.
StubHub’s problems are not limited to these areas. In the United States, the company agreed to refund $10 million to consumers after the Federal Trade Commission accused it of advertising live event tickets without fully disclosing mandatory fees, a settlement announced by the FTC earlier this year. In a business that floats on the New York Stock Exchange in 2025, two steps on both sides of the Atlantic world at a difficult time and emphasize how quickly prices have risen on the regulatory agenda.
For SME founders and finance groups, the broader lesson is straightforward, if uncomfortable. The time when the lowest advertised price can be quietly raised at checkout is coming to an end, and the cost of sticking to it, in fines, refunds and reputational damage, now clearly outweighs any temporary uptick in conversion. Fair pricing, it turns out, isn’t just good behavior. It is fast becoming law.
