World Cup soccer fans have taken legal action against StubHub Inc., accusing the popular ticket resale platform of failing to deliver tickets they paid for to attend the world’s biggest soccer tournament.
The proposed class action lawsuit was filed late Tuesday evening in federal court in Manhattan. The fans at the center of the case argue they “did not get what they paid for” because StubHub never came through with the tickets they had been promised.
StubHub did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Throughout the tournament, which is being held across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, fans have taken to social media to voice their frustration with StubHub. Their complaints center on last-minute ticket cancellations and the company’s failure to follow through on promises to provide replacement tickets.
Numerous ticket buyers say they had traveled significant distances to attend matches, only to find that refunds did little to ease the financial pain — they were still on the hook for airfare and hotel costs.
The lawsuit’s complaint put it bluntly: “[Fans] were lied to and purchased World Cup Tickets for large sums of money – only to incur tremendous financial losses. This is a new low for a sports ticketing industry that has been rampant with consumer protection issues time and time again to the detriment of the fans who make sports special.”
For its part, StubHub has pointed the finger at FIFA’s ticketing infrastructure, saying it is responsible for the problems with ticket resales. FIFA, for its part, had previously encouraged fans to use only its own official resale platform, describing it as reliable.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages of no less than $5 million on behalf of thousands of U.S. buyers who never received the World Cup tickets they purchased through StubHub. The legal claims include alleged violations of various consumer protection and false advertising laws.
