StubHub will refund $10 million to consumers and revamp how it displays ticket prices after the Federal Trade Commission accused the company of misleadingly advertising live event tickets without fully disclosing mandatory fees up front.
“The Commission’s Fee Rule makes very clear that the total price of tickets to a live event must be disclosed in advance to allow consumers to make informed purchasing decisions,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, wrote in a statement. “Price transparency is essential to a free and competitive market. Today’s settlement underlines the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that consumers pay the price they are promised.”
The company advertised ticket prices on its website for three days last May “without clearly and conspicuously disclosing in advance how much consumers would actually pay, including all mandatory fees,” the company said. FTC wrote in a complaint and a proposed settlement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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The window of a StubHub office in midtown Manhattan.
A StubHub spokesperson said the company disagrees with the FTC’s view of the case, but is refunding part of costs of the buyers concerned to address the agency’s concerns.
“This settlement covers a limited number of transactions, spanning just three days in May 2025, where some listings on our site may have displayed ticket prices excluding fees,” the spokesperson said.
The agency started apply its “rule on fees” in May 2025, requiring companies to clearly disclose the total price of tickets for live events.
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The FTC said it had sent a warning letter to the ticketing platform after creating the rule.
Through this settlement, the company will offer financial assistance to eligible consumers and the order also requires StubHub to disclose the total price more prominently on its platform.
The agency has stepped up its enforcement efforts following the The Trump administration’s executive order on ticketing in March of last year, which directs the FTC to “take appropriate measures…to ensure price transparency at all stages of the ticket purchasing process, including in the secondary ticketing market.”
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“My management is committed to making as accessible as possible the arts and entertainment that enrich the lives of Americans,” Trump’s order said. “The rent-seeking behaviors surrounding the ticketing industry are contrary to this goal. They harm consumers and capitalize on market distortions that must not continue. »
The FTC highlighted sales of high-demand NFL tickets around May 14, 2025, when the league schedule was announced, as an example of the alleged violations.
The settlement would require StubHub to fund a $10 million consumer redress program for eligible purchasers who purchased tickets to live events in the United States between May 12 and 14, 2025. Within 90 days of the order, the company must reimburse two groups: consumers whose full ticket price was not disclosed on the initial price display, and all other consumers who purchased tickets during that period.
Andrew Ferguson became chairman of the FTC during President Donald Trump’s administration, implementing a long-sought attack on the unwanted fees and lack of transparency of former President Joe Biden’s administration. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Getty/Getty Images)
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Beyond monetary relief, the proposed order would prohibit StubHub from misrepresenting the total price of goods or services, the nature or amount of fees, the final payment amount, and other material facts, including refund and cancellation terms.
The commission voted 2-0 to authorize the complaint and entered into the final order. The case was filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York. The settlement will take effect if approved by a district court judge.
