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UK watchdog fines StubHub, orders refunds to 50,000 fans over hidden ticket fees - Finance news and analysis from Global Banking & Finance Review
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UK watchdog fines StubHub, orders refunds to 50,000 fans over hidden ticket fees

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review

Posted on June 23, 2026

2 min read

· Last updated: June 23, 2026

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UK watchdog fines StubHub UK, orders refunds to 50,000 fans over hidden ticket fees

StubHub UK Fined and Ordered to Refund Customers

(Refiles to change headline to StubHub UK from StubHub)

Details of the Fine and Refunds

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator fined ticket resale platform StubHub UK £900,000 ($1.19 million) on Tuesday and ordered it to refund more than 50,000 customers for illegally hiding mandatory fees from fans buying tickets for gigs and sports events.

Hidden Fees and Consumer Law Violations

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said some customers who bought tickets between April 6 and December 7 last year had to pay delivery and service fees that were not included in the total price from the start, which broke consumer law.

Refund Process and Amounts

They will receive refunds of around £10 per transaction onto the cards used to buy the tickets, the CMA said.

Regulatory Context and Company Structure

Strengthened Consumer Powers

The CMA received strengthened consumer powers in April 2025 to tackle hidden fees as well as other unlawful online pricing practices.

StubHub UK and Parent Company Information

StubHub UK is part of StubHub International, created when StubHub was acquired by Viagogo in 2021 to meet regulatory requirements.

StubHub International is owned by Digital Fuel Capital and functions separately from StubHub North America, according to the company's website.

Additional Information

($1 = 0.7556 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala; editing by Sarah Young)

Key Takeaways

  • The CMA found StubHub UK (Ticketbis S.L.) engaged in “drip pricing” by hiding mandatory fees until checkout, breaching UK consumer law under the DMCCA (ticketnews.com).
  • The fine of £900,000 (~$1.19 million) underscores the CMA’s new enforcement powers, allowing it to impose significant penalties and order consumer redress up to 10 % of global turnover (ticketnews.com).
  • This action is part of a broader CMA crackdown on misleading online pricing, as StubHub joins others under scrutiny—reinforcing regulators' mandate that ‘the price you see is the price you pay’ (ticketnews.com)

References

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was StubHub UK fined by the competition regulator?
StubHub UK was fined for illegally hiding mandatory fees from customers purchasing tickets for gigs and sports events.
How much was StubHub UK fined?
StubHub UK was fined £900,000 by the Britain's competition regulator.
How many customers are affected by the StubHub UK fine?
More than 50,000 customers were ordered to be refunded for hidden ticket fees by StubHub UK.
What events were involved in the StubHub UK fine?
The fine involved gigs and sports events where customers were not shown the full mandatory ticket fees.

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