StubHub’s UK operation has been hit with a £900,000 fine and ordered to refund more than 50,000 customers after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found it had been charging illegal hidden fees on ticket sales.
The regulator confirmed on June 23 that the secondary ticketing platform had been adding delivery and service charges at the point of purchase — fees that weren’t visible upfront — on music and sports event tickets between April and December 2025. That practice, known as drip pricing, is banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, which requires companies to show the full price from the off. The CMA can fine companies up to 10% of annual turnover for breaches.
Affected customers can expect around £10 back per transaction. StubHub says it will contact them directly with automatic refunds.
The fine could have been higher. StubHub received a 40% reduction after admitting to the practice — though the company framed it as an “isolated platform error” rather than anything deliberate. A spokesperson said its UK platform is designed to display all fees upfront and that the issue has since been corrected.
The CMA wasn’t having it as an excuse. “Hitting customers with hidden fees is illegal,” said Emma Cochrane, executive director of consumer protection at the CMA. “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.”