‘We are very concerned’: Webjet under fire for alleged misleading advertising
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced Federal Court proceedings against online travel booking site, Webjet, alleging it made false and misleading representations to consumers about flight prices and bookings.
On Thursday, the ACCC alleged that Webjet breached Australian Consumer Law when it made statements on its app, in marketing emails, on social media and on its website about the minimum price of airfares which omitted compulsory fees charged by the website.
The statements were made between November 2018 and November 2023, and included the wording “flights from $x” when the price quoted excluded Webjet’s compulsory servicing fee’ and booking price guarantee fee – which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking.
These fees were not disclosed in Webjet’s social media posts, and only accessible in promotional emails by scrolling towards the bottom of the relevant screen, “in fine print and not sufficiently clear or prominent,” according to the ACCC.
“We know how much Australian consumers value air travel to stay connected for work, leisure or to visit family,” ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said.
“During this time of cost pressures, many consumers are carefully considering travel arrangements and seeking to save money. A statement about the lowest price must be a true minimum price, not a price subject to further fees and charges before a booking can be made.”
Webjet is also alleged to have breached consumer law by displaying a confirmation page online and sending a confirmation email after taking payment for a completed flight booking when, in the case of 382 bookings, it had not booked the flight with the airline. Webjet later allegedly sought additional payment from the consumers to complete the booking, or offered the consumer a refund for the flight, despite having earlier confirmed the booking.
“We are very concerned about this alleged conduct by Webjet, which represented to consumers that their flight booking had been confirmed and left some consumers in the position of having to pay more to later complete the booking,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
“The ACCC is currently prioritising consumer and competition issues in the aviation sector as well as conduct in the digital economy.
“We remind all businesses, whether they are online retailers or bricks and mortar stores, that they need to comply with the Australian Consumer Law by not misleading consumers and displaying prices clearly, including hidden fees and surcharges.”
The ACCC is seeking pecuniary penalties, declarations, injunctions, consumer redress, costs and other orders.
Webjet sent the following statement to Mumbrella:
“Webjet Marketing has fully cooperated with the ACCC prior to the issuance of these proceedings and has already voluntarily and proactively undertaken a number of steps to further improve its disclosure of pricing and fees.
“So far as Webjet Marketing is aware, the ACCC concerns do not relate to its current fee disclosure and pricing practices.
“Webjet Marketing takes compliance with Australian Consumer Law extremely seriously and has always prided itself on its high levels of trust with all stakeholders, especially our customers. Webjet Marketing has always sought to provide great value and service to its customers, helping people compare flight prices and travel products transparently at a time where domestic flight prices are soaring due to a lack of competition.
“Millions of customers have chosen to book through Webjet Marketing during the period in question and we have very rarely been contacted by customers complaining about our disclosure of fees.
“Webjet Group is confident there is no widespread customer dissatisfaction with our offering, disclosure, service or pricing.”
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