By Noah Rothstein
When Fall Out Boy pulled out of the Hella Mega Tour at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, on Aug. 8, many attendees were left frustrated and annoyed, but not with the band. Instead, consumers directed their anger at the company they used to buy the tickets: StubHub, the largest secondary-market ticket marketplace in the U.S.
According to StubHub’s COVID-19 cancelation policy, “if an event is canceled, [they’ll] give you a StubHub credit for 120% of the amount you paid. The 120% credits are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2022.”
However, the StubHub COVID-19 FAQ does not include anything about a “lineup change.” StubHub claimed that when Fall Out Boy had to pull out of the Aug. 8 show due to a positive COVID test, this was technically a “lineup change” and therefore did not warrant refunds.
While Nationals Park gave refunds to those who had purchased tickets directly from the venue, StubHub did not inform consumers that Fall Out Boy would not play and did not offer refunds.
As of May 3, StubHub offers some customers cash refunds for tickets to events that were canceled during the pandemic, creating an exception to a no-refunds policy it adopted in March 2020, the company told The Associated Press.
Customers have complained to the press and filed lawsuits against StubHub’s initial no-refund policy. In an interview, StubHub customer experience vice president Daron Fowlks declined to comment on the litigation. Yet, he said that customers who purchased tickets to events in the U.S. or Canada on or before Mar. 25, 2020, and were issued credits for cancellations, would get refunds.
