A DFDS Seaways advert for £47 sailings did not make it clear that the price was for four people sharing a cabin, the advertising watchdog has ruled.
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against the company after a consumer claimed that the published rate for a crossing between Newcastle and Amsterdam was misleading and could not be substantiated.
DFDS Seaways said that “the standard disclaimer text that clarified that the advertised per person sale price was based on a one-way trip with car and four people in a cabin had been omitted from the web page because of human error”.
However, a ruling published today (Wednesday) said: “The ASA considered the claim ‘From £47pp one way + car’ would be understood by consumers as meaning it was possible to purchase a one-way ticket for one person with a car space on the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam for £47, and a significant number of tickets would be available at that price.
“We understood the £47 price for a one-way ticket was only available when four places were booked in a four-person cabin, and was not available as a single fare in and of itself.
“Text at the bottom of the page stated, ‘Our general crossing prices currently start from £47pp. They are calculated as one-way with 4 people per cabin and car’.
“However, we considered consumers would have only been aware of that qualifying text if they scrolled to the bottom of the page and read the full page of text, which was not necessary in order to search for bookable tickets. The text was, therefore, insufficiently prominent.
“Furthermore, the text did not make clear the offer only applied when four people booked a cabin, rather than to a single person booking a bed in a four-person cabin.”
The ASA added: “We welcomed DFDS Seaways’ assurance that they had taken action to amend the ad and were testing tools to help customers navigate to fares at specific price points.
“However, we considered the qualifying information in the amended ad was still insufficiently prominent and did not make explicitly clear the offer was only applied when a four-person party booked a cabin for four.
“As the £47 one-way ticket was only available when booked as part of a four-person cabin, which had not been made sufficiently clear, we therefore concluded the ad was misleading.”
The ASA ruled that the advert “must not appear in the form complained of” and added: “We told DFDS Seaways to ensure their future marketing communications presented qualifying text clearly and prominently.”
Following the complaint, the company said it would test “easy-to-read overview tables” to help consumers identify travel dates where the advertised price and other fare classes were available.