OTA blames human error for advertised fare not being available
An online travel agency has blamed an error by its fares team for not updating an advertised airline fare on its website.
Hounslow-based Dial4Travel was investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority after a complainant said a £512 deal for a return flights to Australia was unavailable.
The advert, seen on May 26, was for a flight with Singapore Airlines from London Heathrow to Perth on November 18 2018 and returning on December 2018.
Parent company Flights & Holidays UK Ltd said the price in the ad had been valid for a couple of days during a special sale, but was still showing on the website due to an error by its fares team.
The agent said it would not happen again.
Dial4Travel said following the complaint it had amended the ad to include information which made clear the date of the most recent update to prices and that availability was indicative of the price updates and when those took place.
It also explained what consumers needed to do in order to find the most up-to-date prices.
Dial4Travel said that limited availability was mentioned on every listing and it was not possible to add any additional text due to the design of the website.
The ASA said: "We understood that the advertiser was a travel agent and that there were technical limitations on their ability to include real-time flight prices on their website. We considered that, in those circumstances, they needed to ensure that the prices were updated frequently, that the ad made clear the time of the most recent update and that they were subject to change."
It ruled the ad must not appear again in its current form and told Dial4Travel to ensure prices were updated frequently and to make immediately and prominently clear the time and date of the most recent update to the price.
It also told the OTA to make it clear that prices were subject to change and what consumers needed to do in order to find the most up-to-date prices.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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