Washington, DC sues StubHub for misleading pricing

Outrage over inflated ticket prices has been a hot topic lately, with the Justice Department filing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and the House of Representatives passing a bill requiring more transparency in ticket prices. Now, a major U.S. city has filed a lawsuit against StubHub, one of the major ticket resellers.

ABC News reports that Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb, acting on behalf of his constituents, is suing StubHub for its practice of “drip pricing,” in which hidden fees are added to last-minute ticket transactions. The lawsuit alleges StubHub’s “fulfillment and service” fees, which appear at the end of the purchase process. Customers who have already gone through a dozen or so pages are confronted with new fees and a timer that forces them to quickly decide whether to proceed with the transaction. Schwalb says this makes it “nearly impossible” for consumers to know if they are getting the best price.

The lawsuit alleges that StubHub’s hidden fees can be as much as 40% of the advertised ticket price. (StubHub used to provide its final price but stopped doing so about 10 years ago.) In a statement, Brian Schwalb says, “StubHub intentionally hides the true price to increase profits at the expense of its customers.” The lawsuit seeks costs as well as changes to the company’s policies.

In Washington, D.C. alone, StubHub has reportedly collected about $118 million in fees since 2015, and the company settled another lawsuit from Brian Schwalb over Washington Commanders season ticket fees last year. In a statement, StubHub said its ticket pricing policies are consistent with the law and industry standards: “We strongly support federal and state solutions that strengthen existing laws to empower consumers, such as requiring uniform all-in pricing across all platforms.”