Max SteventonThe Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined ticker reseller StubHub UK close to £900,000 after finding the company breached consumer law through “drip pricing”.
The CMA has also ordered the company to pay more than £590,000 in refunds to around 50,000 affected customers.
The regulator found that between 6 April and 7 December 2025, some customers were shown ticket prices that did not include mandatory fees such as delivery and service charges at the outset of the purchase process. These costs were added at the final stage of checkout rather than being included in the total upfront price.
According to the CMA, this practice meant consumers were not able to see the full cost of tickets before selecting or comparing options, in breach of legal requirements on pricing transparency.
StubHub UK has since taken steps to end the practice and cooperated with the investigation. The company admitted breaching consumer law and agreed to settle the case early, receiving a 40% reduction in its penalty. Under the settlement, it will not appeal the decision.
The CMA said affected customers do not need to take action. Refunds will be issued automatically to the payment cards used for the original purchases. The average repayment is expected to be around £10 per transaction, with individual amounts varying depending on fees paid.
The regulator said the action forms part of its wider enforcement against hidden charges following the introduction of strengthened consumer powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. It said it has secured more than £1.95 million in refunds and issued over £5.7 million in fines under these powers.
The fine has been backed widely across the industry including FanFair Alliance, who campaign against industrial-scale online ticket touting.
“These fines levied against StubHub UK for drip pricing should be welcomed,” said FanFair Alliance campaign manager Adam Webb. “However, such illegal practices are only the tip of the iceberg. Over recent years, FanFair Alliance has repeatedly reported far more serious offences to the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), where ticket touting websites including StubHub UK and viagogo have facilitated large-scale fraud and systematic breaches of consumer protection laws.
“Regulators should not turn a blind eye to these wider issues. Today’s developments only highlight the urgent need for a root and branch investigation into the anti-consumer practices of offshore ticket resale websites, and for the UK Government to fast-track their long-promised ban on ticket touting.”