The ticket reseller, StubHub has agreed to pay a $1.3 million penalty after an investigation by Canada’s Competition Bureau found that the company had been advertising misleading ticket prices to entertainment and sporting events.
Across StubHub’s mobile and app and website, the bureau said that “consumers could not buy tickets at advertised prices because StubHub charged consumers mandatory fees in addition to the prices advertised.”
“Prices advertised online for event tickets should reflect the true cost of buying those tickets. The Bureau is committed to challenging false or misleading pricing claims in the digital economy, and reminds all vendors to review their marketing practices,” said Matthew Boswell, the commission of the competition, in a press release.
The bureau also found that unless a consumer specifically turned on filters to see the price of the ticket including the fees, that real price was revealed only in the late stages of the purchase.
In a statement sent to Radio-Canada International, StubHub said that, “in full cooperation with the Competition Bureau, StubHub will ensure the total purchase price is the default view from the outset of the ticket-buying experience.”
“As the world’s most trusted marketplace, StubHub always puts the fan first,” said Paul Nowosad, general manager of StubHub Canada. “With a long history of platform innovation, we are once again enhancing the experience for fans from the outset of the purchase process.”
The agreement between StubHub and the competition bureau is binding for ten years.
With files from CBC News
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.