StubHub is accused of charging “deceptive” fees in the DC lawsuit

StubHub is facing a new lawsuit that accuses the ticket service of hiding fees from customers until the end of the purchase process. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb alleges that StubHub engages in a “series of deceptive, manipulative and unfair practices.”

Attorney General Schwalb alleges that StubHub uses a “bait and switch” technique in which it advertises “deceptively low” ticket prices and adds additional fees after a multi-page purchase process. During this process, StubHub displays a timer that gives customers 10 minutes to complete their purchase — what Schwalb calls a dark pattern designed to create a “false sense of urgency.”

In addition, Schwalb accuses StubHub of misrepresenting the “Fulfillment and Services Fee” it charges on completion. Those fees “vary wildly” and are unrelated to performance or service, Schwalb claims in the lawsuit. The lawsuit also points out that StubHub fails to disclose how these fees are calculated or what they are actually for.

While StubHub has a filter that should show estimated fees, the option is buried in several drop-down menus that make it harder to find. Even with the filter enabled, StubHub never included mandatory fees until the D.C. Attorney General’s Office contacted the ticketing service about its practices in March 2024.

Schwalb claims that StubHub’s practices violate the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Act (CPPA). He is asking the court to order StubHub to pay civil penalties and an injunction to stop StubHub’s alleged deceptive practices.

“StubHub lures consumers in by advertising a deceptively low price, forces them to go through a burdensome purchase process, and then ultimately reveals a total on the checkout page that is far higher than the originally advertised ticket price ”, says Schwalb in the press release. “It’s not an accident – StubHub intentionally hides the true price to increase profits at the expense of its customers.”