D.C. customers who bought tickets to events that were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic can now get refunds after ticket resale company StubHub, in response to an investigation, reversed its decision to issue only account credits.
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement of more than $3.6 million to resolve an investigation into StubHub’s refusal to issue refunds for concerts, games and other events that were canceled in response to nationwide stay-at-home orders.
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said the company’s refusal violated its own policy and also “the trust of its consumers.”
“With this settlement, we are making sure StubHub is taking the necessary steps to make sure consumers are made whole,” Racine said in a statement.
The investigation into StubHub involved several states, including Maryland and Virginia.
As part of the settlement, the company will disclose any changes to its refund policies before the consumer agrees to it; honor its policies when events are canceled; process refunds punctually, and pay a civil penalty, including $468,050 unless it pays the refunds owed to D.C. customers and follows the other terms of the agreement.
Under its “FanProtect Guarantee,” StubHub’s policy before the coronavirus pandemic promised full refunds for canceled events.
In March 2020, Racine’s office said StubHub changed the policy and stopped honoring the guarantee during nationwide stay-at-home orders, telling customers that they would receive account credits equal to 120% of the purchase price toward future events instead.
The multistate investigation began after several customer complaints and Stubhub’s “lack of responsiveness” to the inquiries, Racine’s office said.
In May, StubHub changed its earlier decision and told customers that they would receive a full refund for tickets bought before March 25, 2020, that were canceled.
“As a result, 7,867 District consumers received a total of over $3.6 million in refunds for tickets they had purchased,” the D.C. Attorney General’s Office said.
If you believe that you are entitled to a refund and have not been contacted, you can call StubHub at 866-788-2482 or the D.C. Attorney General’s Office at 202-442-9828.
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