World Cup fans who thought they had bought pricey match tickets at the ongoing soccer tournament are suing StubHub, alleging that the ticket broker failed to deliver them.
Plaintiffs in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday said they “did not get what they paid for” in buying World Cup tickets through StubHub. One California resident said she used the platform to buy three tickets for a total of $1,905 for a June 18 game at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, but then discovered that StubHub had canceled the order. That violated StubHub’s own terms of service, according to the suit.
A second plaintiff said he spent nearly $3,000 for two tickets to watch Mexico play South Korea but that his tickets were also canceled. Although he was refunded for the seats, he has not recouped the additional travel costs, the complaint alleges.
“Unfortunately, with high anticipation comes high likelihood for taking advantage of the consumers willing to pay,” the lawsuit states, noting that “the odds of consumers facing high prices and a difficult to navigate market were almost guaranteed.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs are seeking damages of at least $5 million.
Many consumers turned to secondary marketplaces like StubHub for a shot at tickets resold by fans who had initially purchased them directly from World Cup organizer FIFA. The soccer federation only guarantees the validity of tickets it sells directly and limits the sale of tickets through third-party sellers such as StubHub, the lawsuit states.
The complaint also alleges that StubHub isn’t authorized to sell World Cup tickets and that the platform failed to honor its “FanProtect Guarantee,” which is meant to ensure the authenticity of World Cup tickets purchased on StubHub.
“StubHub misrepresents its authority to sell World Cup Tickets, then, when plaintiffs and class members travel thousands of miles to attend World Cup matches, there are no tickets to be found despite having paid for them,” the lawsuit alleged.
StubHub said it does not comment on pending litigation, but blamed FIFA for any ticketing mishaps.
“Our singular goal is to get fans into events, and if anything goes wrong, our FanProtect Guarantee provides replacement tickets or a full refund,” a StubHub spokesperson told CBS News. “The World Cup is no different, and the issues fans have experienced are largely driven by problems with the event organizer’s own ticketing infrastructure.”
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
