Says, ‘StubHub should have honored its guarantee to consumers’

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced a multi-state settlement with StubHub, Inc. concerning the company’s refusal to pay refunds to consumers for concerts, sports events and other events that were canceled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Arkansas is joined by nine other states and the District of Columbia in a multistate resolution with the California-based company. StubHub operates one of the largest ticket reselling marketplaces in the country. 

“StubHub should have honored its guarantee to consumers without action by my office, but through this settlement Stubhub will make good on its promise,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I will continue to hold these companies responsible for fair business practices with Arkansas consumers.”

Under its “FanProtect Guarantee,” StubHub offered consumers full refunds of the purchase price and fees they paid for tickets if their events were canceled. In March 2020, however, following the mass-cancelation of entertainment events, StubHub stopped honoring its refund guarantee and instead told its customers that they would receive account credits equal to 120% of their purchases to be used for future events and denied their requests for refunds. Following the states’ coordinated investigations, in May 2021 StubHub reversed its decision and notified its customers that if they purchased tickets prior to March 25, 2020, and their events were canceled, they would receive full refunds of the amounts they paid for their tickets to events unless they elected to retain their account credits.

Today’s settlement also requires StubHub to clearly disclose any modification to its refund policies before a consumer agrees to it and honor those policies when events are canceled. Stubhub must promptly process refund requests it receives from consumers for the events at issue going forward. The agreement also provides for a $96,900 civil penalty, which StubHub can avoid paying if it pays the refunds owed to Arkansas consumers and it does not violate the other terms of the agreement. 

Nearly 2,000 Arkansas consumers purchased tickets on StubHub’s marketplace under terms that included the FanProtect Guarantee.  Consumers who have not been contacted by StubHub and believe they are entitled to a refund may either contact StubHub at (866) 788-2482 or the Attorney General’s Office at (501) 682-2007.

Joining Arkansas’s settlement were the Offices of Attorney General for Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.