CMA settles second drip pricing investigation with its direct enforcement toolkit

Following the announcement last week of a settlement with Marks Electrical, the CMA has now announced a settlement with StubHub UK for its use of drip pricing. This is the third enforcement action from the CMA under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) since its direct enforcement powers came into force in April 2025. StubHub UK must refund over £590,000 to more than 50,000 customers and pay roughly £900,000 as a fine for failing to display mandatory fees in its headline ticket prices.

What the CMA found

The CMA investigated the consumer experience purchasing tickets on StubHub between 6 April 2025 and 7 December 2025. The CMA found that certain mandatory costs, such as delivery and service fees, were not included in the headline price shown at the start of the sales journey and instead were introduced at the final stage of checkout. The CMA concluded StubHub’s pricing practice – commonly referred to as “drip pricing” – was unlawful under the DMCCA. The DMCCA prohibits drip pricing, which is the practice of showing consumers an initial headline price for a product and then subsequently introducing additional mandatory charges later in the sales journey.

The CMA ordered StubHub to refund over £590,000 to 51,350 affected customers (an average payout of around £10.33 per transaction). StubHub must also pay a fine of £889,200. The fine was reduced by 40% because StubHub admitted to its wrongdoing and agreed to settle with the CMA, suggesting the CMA valued the fine originally at approximately £1.48 million. 

The road ahead

Drip pricing has been an early priority for the CMA. In November 2025, after reviewing over 400 businesses across 19 sectors, the CMA opened enforcement cases against eight businesses focused on online pricing practices and selling tactics. Five of those concerned hidden fees and drip pricing. The CMA previously settled with Automobile Association Developments Limited (AA) for its use of drip pricing for the AA and BSM Driving Schools; with StubHub now settled as well, we shall see whether the Viagogo and Gold’s Gym investigations will reach their conclusions soon.

This settlement is another reminder that the CMA will scrutinise the full customer journey and make full use of its direct enforcement powers under the DMCCA. Businesses should closely examine their operations and pricing practices to ensure they are in compliance with UK’s consumer laws. Although the early priority has been on drip pricing, the CMA has already set out enforcement focus areas for year two that span the range of consumer engagement, including fake reviews, subscription contracts, and the use of AI. 

If you have questions about how the CMA's new enforcement powers may affect your business or would like support reviewing your online sales practices for compliance, please contact a member of our consumer protection team.

With many thanks to Miriam Butcher who also contributed to this blog post.