Ticket resale site StubHub warned it could face court action over consumer law breach fears

StubHub sells tickets for many Scottish venues such as the Hydro in Glasgow.

The body is concerned that the firm is not complying with commitments it made to clean up its site following an earlier investigation - such as failing to adequately warn people that tickets may not get them into an event, using misleading messages about ticket availability and failing to ensure people know exactly where they will sit in a venue, among other issues.

It said that if the changes do not go far enough to address its concerns, the CMA "will consider taking action through the courts".

Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: "StubHub had previously committed to make important changes to the information on its site, so anyone buying a ticket would know what they were getting before parting with their money. It’s therefore unacceptable that we have now found these concerns.

"We have demanded swift action to resolve these problems and are pleased that StubHub has said it will make changes in response. We will closely monitor the firm’s efforts and, if it does not quickly implement changes that satisfy us, we will take further action - potentially through the courts."

He added: "As we continue to examine these consumer cases, it is now imperative that the CMA is given stronger powers to rule on whether a company has broken the law and impose fines if needed. We will continue to work with the Government on the most effective way to achieve this."

A separate CMA investigation is ongoing into viagogo’s anticipated purchase of StubHub from eBay. In November, Eric Baker, founder and chief executive of Viagogo, announced that the company had acquired StubHub for £3.15 billion - more than a decade after he founded StubHub while in business school at Stanford University in the US.

Wayne Grierson, regional manager for StubHub UK said: “StubHub UK has complied with everything that the CMA requested following their investigation into the online secondary ticketing sector in 2018. Our compliance with our undertakings was confirmed through a compliance audit in 2019. We have always collaborated closely with regulators in the interests of our fans, and will continue to do so."

“The CMA has now made additional asks. We remain in open dialogue with the CMA to address both these new asks and any remaining valid concerns about disclosure of information on our site. We are working closely to resolve these as quickly as possible, and in the best interest of our customers, the fans."

Adam French, consumer rights expert at Which?, said: "These serious concerns about StubHub potentially ripping off customers and flouting the law come after similar practices were exposed at Viagogo - and must raise further doubts about the proposed merger between the two."It is worrying that unscrupulous practices by the big players seem to be ongoing, despite years of action by the CMA. This demonstrates the pressing need for reform of the enforcement landscape in order to give the regulator the tools it needs to bring about swift and lasting change for consumers."