The seller says he was trying to ensure StubHub was complying with FIFA rules, but StubHub cancelled the sales.
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A Surrey man has filed a lawsuit seeking $25,000 in losses, alleging that StubHub failed to complete the resale of 12 World Cup soccer tickets.
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Jayden Lalani claims the online ticket resale platform breached its contract with him to sell the tickets, according to the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court. He’s asking the court to order the company to reimburse him the more than $22,000 the 12 tickets were sold for, it said.
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Insisting he “complied with all of StubHub rules and contractual requirements,” Lalani is also asking that StubHub reverse three charges to his credit card of around $2,500.
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In his lawsuit, Lalani said he bought 12 tickets in October from FIFA’s official marketplace, including for matches between England and Ghana, Scotland and Brazil, Iraq and Norway, and Norway and Senegal.
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All the matches are in the U.S.
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He then listed them on StubHub and sold them for US$16,270 (just over CDN$22,000). Individual tickets ranged from about CDN$1,000 to CDN$2,900.
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However, before the tickets were transferred to the buyers, Lalani got a notice from FIFA, stating that all tickets had to be transferred from and to a valid FIFA Marketplace account, according to the lawsuit. The notice said it was therefore important to verify each of the buyers’ email accounts was linked to a valid FIFA Marketplace account.
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The FIFA notice also warned transferring tickets to third-party platforms “is discouraged, as it may result in issues, including the inability to cancel or accept transfers,” the lawsuit said.
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FIFA said to ensure ticket transfers were “secure and valid,” sellers should only transfer tickets from one FIFA account to another.
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Last month, Lalani contacted StubHub customer service and informed them of FIFA’s notice to ensure the buyers’ emails were linked to a FIFA Marketplace account or that buyers would create a FIFA account before the ticket transfer.
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About 10 days later, StubHub replied, “stating that all of my transactions had been cancelled and that I was financially liable for each sale,” Lalani’s lawsuit said. The reason given was that the sale “was not fulfilled as expected.”
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StubHub also blocked his account, the lawsuit said.
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After repeated failed attempts to reach someone at StubHub, he was eventually told that he had breached its privacy policy by contacting a buyer directly, according to the lawsuit.
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Lalani denies the allegation, saying he didn’t have their contact information.
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“That allegation is not true,” Lalani said in the notice of claim. “I have never contacted or attempted to contact any of the purchasers directly.”
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He said he was also charged on his credit card for three entries of $853 each, for a total of more than $2,500.
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“StubHub’s conduct constitutes a breach of contract and negligence, for which I have suffered loss and harm,” said Lalani.
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“I did not breach any of StubHub’s rules, and StubHub’s conduct has been wrongful and without lawful justification,” according to the lawsuit.
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StubHub has not yet filed a response to the claim. A request for comment wasn’t returned.
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None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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