- A bipartisan group of 11 AGs, led by Maryland AG Brian Frosh, reached a settlement with online ticket reseller StubHub, Inc. to resolve allegations that StubHub violated state consumer protection laws by refusing to issue refunds to ticketholders for events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- According to the AGs, StubHub’s advertised guarantee offered consumers full refunds of the ticket purchase price and fees if their events were cancelled, but after the mass cancellation of events in March 2020 due to COVID-19, StubHub allegedly stopped honoring its refund guarantee and offered to credit customers’ accounts instead. In May 2021, after the commencement of the AGs’ investigation, StubHub reversed its policy and offered to issue the guaranteed refunds to affected customers.
- Under the terms of the Maryland consent order, which is substantially similar to the settlements with other investigating states, StubHub will pay $424,250 in civil penalties unless it issues full refunds to affected consumers; must honor its refund policies and not change refund policies for already-purchased tickets unless the purchaser consents to the change; and must submit a compliance report detailing its refunding efforts and compliance with the consent order, among other things.