Operator misled public over price
Budget holiday specialist Mercury Direct misled customers by advertising holidays at prices that were not available by the time they came to book.
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against Mercury Direct’s parent company Sunspot Tours and ordered it not to repeat the ads.
Mecury Direct was advertising one week all-inclusive packages at a five-star Enotel Lido Resort and Spa in Madeira from £445 for travel from May 2012 to August 2013. Some 200 people booked the holiday, but they all paid more than £445.
The company said the ad stated that the lead-in price was only valid from January 4 to 15, 2013, but the ASA said this information was only included in the small print. It said that as availability was so limited, this should have featured in the main body of the ad.
Furthermore, the ASA said there was no evidence the holidays had ever been available at £445 for the relevant departure dates.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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