An online travel agent has been ordered to ensure that price claims are based on “genuine fares” available to consumers.
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against BBNJ, trading as Traveldecorum, after a consumer complained that they had to pay an extra £50 on top of an advertised £440 return fare to Tel Aviv.
They were told by the company in February that the price stated in the advert was no longer available and that they would have to pay the additional £50 which had been advertised as a discount.
BBNJ contended that flight availability was checked twice before customers booked because fare combinations were dynamic and frequently changed.
However, the firm admitted that there had been a price discrepancy in this case due to a real-time seat availability issue with a supplier.
It provided evidence of an alternative booking for same flight route on a different date at a price that was lower than advertised.
But the ASA upheld the complaint and said: “While we understood that flight prices available through third parties were liable to fluctuate, advertisers were nevertheless responsible for ensuring that stated prices were genuine and did not mislead.
“Because the flight was not available at the price quoted, we therefore concluded that the price claims were misleading.”
Ruling that the advert must not appear again in the same form, the ASA told BBNJ “to ensure that their price claims were based on genuine prices available to consumers”.