StubHub Sued by Washington, DC for Alleging It Inflated Ticket Prices with Deceptive Fees
The Washington, D.C. attorney general sued StubHub on Wednesday, alleging ticket resale platform Deceptively advertise low prices and then increase prices with surcharges.
The practice known as “drip pricing” violates consumer protection law in the nation’s capital, Attorney General Brian Schwalb said.
“StubHub intentionally conceals real prices to increase profits at the expense of customers,” he said in a statement.
The company did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Schwalb said mandatory “fulfillment and service” fees are hidden until the end of lengthy online purchases, which often require more than a dozen pages to complete, because the timer creates a sense of urgency.
That makes it “nearly impossible” for buyers to know the true price of a ticket and compare prices to find the best deal, he said. Fees vary widely and can be as much as 40 percent of the advertised ticket price, the lawsuit alleges.
StubHub is one of the world’s largest resale platforms for sports, concerts, and other live event tickets.
Sally Greenberg, CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group National Consumers League, welcomed the lawsuit. “Hidden fees in the ticketing industry have really gotten out of hand. The advertised price is the price we pay — period,” she said. Ticket fees are also part of a broader antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department. filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster. and parent company in May.
StubHub used to advertise “all-in-one” ticket prices about a decade ago, but changed course after realizing people were more likely to buy tickets at higher prices under the “trickle-down” pricing model, he said.
According to the lawsuit, Washington residents’ per capita spending on live entertainment far exceeds many other major U.S. cities, and since 2015, StubHub has sold nearly 5 million tickets in Washington and collected about $118 million in fees.
The lawsuit seeks damages and a stop to the pricing practices. Schwalb settled Another lawsuit last year with Washington Commanders on fans’ season ticket deposits.
