Ryanair fined £24,000 for missing tax information
Ryanair was yesterday fined £24,000 for not explaining to customers that tax would be added to the cost of a flight ticket, thereby breaching consumer protection laws.
But the carrier claims that it “won a victory” because the court decided it was legal to advertise without displaying taxes – as long as that was clearly stated on advertisements.
The no-frills airline was in court after being prosecuted by Essex Trading Standards, which will have to pay prosecution costs on the judge’s order.
According to a report in The Guardian, the council argued that “the price you see is the price you pay” in relation to airline adverts on the internet.
Specifically, the carrier was being accused of breaking the Consumer Protection Act when it advertised a one-way flight from Stansted to Pisa for £4.99, excluding tax. The total price, including insurance and air duty, would have been £11.87.
While the jury did not agree with this assertion, the airline was fined a total of £24,000 for six internet pages that did not state “excluding tax”.
Mike Hill, of Essex Trading Standards, is quoted as saying: “We have tested the law and the law has been found wanting. If a petrol company advertised a litre of petrol at 25p – excluding tax – it would be illegal. It should be the same with internet advertising with flights.”
Referring to the case as “a victory for small print”, he added: “Ryanair advertises in this way becase it makes their flights look cheaper.”
Caroline Green, of Ryanair, reportedly told the newspaper: “Ryanair’s internet banner advertising – e.g. £4.99 exclusive of tax – was not misleading to customers. Ninety-eight per cent of our customers book via the internet. We have 30 million customers a year and we have not had a single complaint about our advertising.”
The nation’s media also appears to be at odds over who was the real winner in the case; the Daily Mail screams: “A rocket for Ryanair,” while The Guardian’s headline reads: “Ryanair claims win in website ads case.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
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