Information and Alerts

Pattern of Complaints

BBB files indicate a Pattern of Complaints regarding the company's billing and customer service practices. Consumers are telling BBB about their experiences with using the StubHub online platform to buy and sell event tickets, and BBB has noted a significant spike in complaints for the company since the beginning of 2024. Consumers who say they sold tickets are apparently having trouble getting their money from the company for those sales. These consumers also report that the payout process has been complicated by a lack of sufficient customer service as well as the companies' own confusing policies. Complainants who allegedly buy on the StubHub platform indicate that issues with purchased tickets are common, such problems with downloads, validation, delays in delivery, and even alleged counterfeit items. Several consumers also claim that these issues have led to their missing an event, or paying for additional tickets last minute just to get into the venue. There are also reportedly issues with fraudulent charges or activity with StubHub accounts that are not being addressed in a timely or adequate fashion by the company. Additionally, consumers claim that event cancellations are not being addressed promptly with refunds; instead several consumer state that the company reps attempt to stall the return of funds for publicly cancelled events and even request unnecessary documentation to verify a cancellation. Other consumers indicate that in many scenarios, requests for refunds are extensively delayed by the company, forcing consumers to repeatedly follow-up with StubHub in an attempt to resolve matters.

On Jan. 24, 2025, BBB contacted StubHub and requested its voluntary cooperation in alleviated the identified issues in the Pattern of Complaints. As of February 28, 2025, the business failed to respond to BBB regarding the identified issues in the Pattern of Complaints.

Government Action: BBB reports on known government actions involving business’ marketplace conduct:

DC Attorney General Sues StubHub for Deceptive Pricing & Junk Fees

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.

On July 31, 2024, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb filed a lawsuit against StubHub, Inc. (StubHub), an online ticket exchange and resale platform, to put an end to StubHub’s deceptive and unfair practice of hiding mandatory fees from consumers until the end of a lengthy purchase process, and then failing to provide clear and accurate information about the purpose of those fees or how the fees are calculated. These deceptive and unfair practices interfere with consumers’ ability to compare prices and to otherwise make informed decisions about their ticket purchases, in violation of the District’s consumer protection laws.



StubHub utilizes a system called “drip pricing,” in which the company advertises an artificially low price to entice ticket buyers, then prompts them through a series of needless steps while a countdown clock creates a false sense of urgency. By the time customers have made it past StubHub’s numerous pages—often over a dozen—to the end of the lengthy checkout process, they are often charged a final price substantially higher than the advertised price due to cryptic “fulfillment and service” fees tacked on without adequate explanation of the fees’ purpose. Faced with this inflated total and the countdown timer threatening to make them start the whole process over, consumers are pressured into the purchase out of fear that they risk losing the tickets. Drip pricing also makes it nearly impossible for consumers to comparison shop between StubHub and other platforms, since they don’t know what the fee will amount to until they near the end of the checkout process. StubHub designed the drip pricing scheme specifically to increase profits at the expense of consumers. From 2014-2015, StubHub utilized “all-in pricing,” in which advertised prices included mandatory fees. After a testing period that randomly assigned consumers to one of the two pricing models demonstrated that consumers are more likely to purchase tickets—and purchase them at higher prices—if fees are hidden until the end, StubHub implemented its deceptive drip pricing model.



The District of Columbia is particularly impacted by StubHub’s illegal conduct, as residents and visitors spend more per capita on live entertainment in Washington, DC than those in many other major US cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Nashville, and Austin. Since adopting the drip pricing model in 2015, StubHub has sold nearly 5 million tickets to District consumers, extracting an estimated $118 million in hidden fees.



With this lawsuit, OAG seeks to correct StubHub’s deceptive and misleading practices and obtain restitution for harmed District consumers and financial penalties.



The full complaint is available here: https://tinyurl.com/53ezftfj