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StubHub will refund $10 million to shoppers and revamp the way it shows ticket costs after the Federal Commerce Fee accused the corporate of deceptively promoting live-event tickets with out absolutely disclosing obligatory charges upfront.
“The Fee’s Charges Rule makes it very clear that the overall worth of live-event tickets should be disclosed up-front to allow shoppers to make absolutely knowledgeable buying selections,” FTC’s Bureau of Client Safety Director Christopher Mufarrige wrote in a press release. “Worth transparency is important to a free and aggressive market. Right now’s settlement underscores the Fee’s dedication to making sure that customers pay the worth they’re promised.”
The corporate had marketed ticket costs on its web site throughout a three-day stretch final Might “with out clearly and conspicuously disclosing up-front how a lot shoppers truly would pay, together with all obligatory charges,” the FTC wrote in a criticism and proposed settlement filed within the U.S. District Court docket for the Southern District of New York.
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The window of a StubHub workplace in midtown Manhattan.
A StubHub spokesperson stated the corporate disagreed with the FTC’s view of the case however is refunding a portion of affected consumers’ charges to handle the company’s issues.
“This settlement covers a restricted variety of transactions, spanning simply three days in Might 2025, the place some listings on our website might have displayed ticket costs unique of charges,” the spokesperson stated.
The company started implementing its “Charges Rule” in Might of 2025, requiring companies to obviously disclose the overall worth of live-event tickets.
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The FTC stated it had despatched a warning letter to the ticketing platform after the rule was shaped.
By this settlement, the corporate will present financial reduction to eligible shoppers and the order additionally requires StubHub to reveal the overall worth extra prominently on its platform.
The company has elevated its enforcement efforts following the Trump administration’s govt order on ticketing in March of final 12 months, which directs the FTC to “take applicable motion … to make sure worth transparency in any respect phases of the ticket-purchase course of, together with the secondary ticketing market.”
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“My administration is dedicated to creating as accessible as doable the humanities and leisure that enrich People’ lives,” Trump’s order stated. “The rent-seeking behaviors surrounding the ticketing trade are opposite to this objective. They’re detrimental to shoppers and capitalize on market distortions that should not be allowed to persist.”
The FTC highlighted gross sales of high-demand NFL tickets round Might 14, 2025, when the league schedule was introduced, for instance of the alleged violations.
The settlement would require StubHub to fund a $10 million client redress program for eligible consumers who bought tickets for U.S. dwell occasions between Might 12 and Might 14, 2025. Inside 90 days of the order, the corporate should present refunds to 2 teams: shoppers whose whole ticket worth was not disclosed on the preliminary pricing show, and all different shoppers who purchased tickets throughout that interval.
Andrew Ferguson turned the FTC chair below President Donald Trump’s administration, placing into motion a long-sought assault on junk charges and an absence of transparency from the earlier administration of former President Joe Biden. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Photos; Getty / Getty Photos)
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Past the financial reduction, the proposed order would bar StubHub from misrepresenting the overall worth of products or providers, the character or quantity of charges, the ultimate cost quantity, and different materials information, together with refund and cancellation phrases.
The fee voted 2-0 to authorize the criticism and stipulated remaining order. The case was filed in federal courtroom within the Southern District of New York. The settlement will take impact if authorized by a district courtroom choose.
