Misleading Prices on Websites - A Call to Action

[Sparky74]

Are you sick and tired of cruiselines and travel agents advertising prices that do not include fees and taxes (and gratuities)?

I believe that this is actually illegal under the Australian Consumer Law.

What can we do about it?

I suggest that we ALL complain to the ACCC about this practice of "drip pricing" (aka "component pricing").

Take a few moments to fill out the form found at https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/contact-the-accc/consumer-complaint-form

 

I'll add some detail in a separate post.

 

 

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[Sparky74]

The following is taken from

Travel and accommodation: An industry guide to the Australian Consumer Law

It can be found online at

http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/acl_resources/downloads/industry_guides/travel_accommodation.pdf

 

 

Component pricing

 

You must not promote or state a price that is only part of the cost, unless also prominently advertising the single (total) price.

 

The single price means the minimum total cost that is able to be quantified (or calculated) at the time of making the representation in order for a consumer to purchase the service.

 

The single price is calculated by adding up each of the price components that you are able to quantify when you make the price representation; for example, any tax, duty, fee, levy or charge imposed on you.

 

A prominent single price is one that:

> stands out so it can easily be seen by a consumer

> is clear, eye-catching and very noticeable.

 

Example:

 

A travel business advertises an overseas package holiday (flights and accommodation) for $1990. In fine print at the bottom, it states this price excludes airport taxes. These are known costs totalling $250, and should therefore be part of the total price.

 

The total price of the holiday ($2240) should have been displayed as prominently as the $1990 package price, because the total price was quantifiable.

 

While what is ‘prominent’ may vary on a case-by-case basis, you should consider factors such as the size, placement, colour and font of the price, as well as the background of the advertisement. For example, if a single price is smaller or in a colour that is harder to read than any component price, then this is likely to mean it is not as prominent.

[Sparky74]

If you want to get really technical you can look at the COMPETITION AND CONSUMER ACT 2010 - SCHEDULE 2 (aka The Australian Consumer Law).

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/caca2010265/sch2.html

 

This is great bedtime reading - real cure for insomnia.;)

 

Look at:

Chapter 3

Part 3-1

Division 4

Sections 47 and 48

 

Also

Chapter 4

Part 4-1

Division 4

Sections 165 and 166

[dancinman66]

Yep too many are misleading

Booked one a few years back

They said from 799 per person

Booked and it came back as 1250 each

 

You just really need to check what your looking at before buying I suppose

 

 

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[Aussieflyer]

Can you give examples of advertising in Australia where cruise lines are drip pricing? The ones I have seen recently do include fees and taxes. As far as I am aware gratuities do not count as they technically can be removed and not paid. The upfront fee for anytime dining is interesting and may be different though as that is prepaid and you would need to reverse it on board.

I would be interested to hear of examples of the practice.

[fishtaco]

Fares for sailing from Australia now include all the above with all "Australian" cruise line companies,even RCI sailings now include the pre paid grats on there web for OZ sailings regardless your dinning preference.

 

RCI sailings from other ports through RCI AU do not include the grats but with those sailings you dont have to pay them at all if you dont want to. With MTD from other ports it is a dinning option you choose during booking proses so the non refundable grats are added at choosing MTD, just like choosing a higher category than the cheapest one advertised and paying the higher price chosen.

 

I dont use T/A,s anymore so not sure if they are still abusing the system?

 

This is why we have to now book through AU companies like Carnival AU, RCI AU P&O AU and Princess AU. Go outside Australia to book and the Australian law does not apply.

[fishtaco]

Can you give examples of advertising in Australia where cruise lines are drip pricing? The ones I have seen recently do include fees and taxes. As far as I am aware gratuities do not count as they technically can be removed and not paid. The upfront fee for anytime dining is interesting and may be different though as that is prepaid and you would need to reverse it on board.

I would be interested to hear of examples of the practice.

 

According to RCI main office you cannot remove "pre paid" grats onboard because they are paid through a different accounting system than the onboard Auto,s so pre paid have to be removed from the land based office which is not possible once onboard as you have then opened an onboard account.

Edited August 22, 2014 by fishtaco

[goodycruising]

The gratuities on RCI website only come up after you go into the booking area, and it has been a long time since I have seen the set dining times available. We mentally add them in after looking at the initial price, but I agree, this is not how we want to have to do things under Australian law.

 

The gratuities are misleading, as yes, technically you could get them taken off, but I understand you need to really have a reason to take them off, and that creates a nasty atmosphere with a room attendant and waiters that you are dealing with, daily. Not going there.

[Dizziedi]

According to RCI main office you cannot remove "pre paid" grats onboard because they are paid through a different accounting system than the onboard Auto,s so pre paid have to be removed from the land based office which is not possible once onboard as you have then opened an onboard account.

 

If you choose MTD your grats are paid with your final payment and you can't remove them once on board - correct. We always choose Traditional Dining because we prefer to pay tips to the people who provide us service (and we rarely use the MDR but tip accordingly in the specialty restaurants, Concierge, Cabin Attendant, etc). They do apply the grats once we board but we then go and have them removed with no problem at all. You must choose Traditional Dining to be able to do so.

 

Cheers

Di

[fishtaco]

The gratuities on RCI website only come up after you go into the booking area, and it has been a long time since I have seen the set dining times available. We mentally add them in after looking at the initial price, but I agree, this is not how we want to have to do things under Australian law.

 

The gratuities are misleading, as yes, technically you could get them taken off, but I understand you need to really have a reason to take them off, and that creates a nasty atmosphere with a room attendant and waiters that you are dealing with, daily. Not going there.

 

There has been quite a lengthy discussion on the RCI board about not being able to choose trad dinning even when you book far out, the chosen time for trad dinning always seems to be on waitlist even in US so you are given MTD with trad waitlisted, this means you have to pre pay grats at booking

 

The AU T&C,s now say we charge pre paid grats or tips for your convenience at booking, this means for all dinning options but if you get trad dinning you can still remove the pre paids by calling them.

 

I called RCI Florida and was told if my trad dinning time became available and was given to me at a later date I could call them back and have my pre paids refunded in favour of daily auto,s but I could not do this once onboard. I could not remove pre paid grats if I had MTD before the cruise or whilst on the cruise but I could adjust them during an unlikely event after the cruise.

 

With Auto daily grats charged onboard you do not need any reason to remove them, you simply have them removed at GS anytime during the cruise so grats are not part of the fare or package unless you choose MTD which should be a choice lol

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I think the call to action should be the customers to take more interest in what they are actually purchasing and at what cost.

 

When they say from....from what ?

An AA , AB , AC cabin and so on.

 

Its much the same as buying a new car. They are also advertised as , from , and then have extras such as On Road Costs,paint finishes, mats etc etc that all get added on to the advertised price.

 

Thats the way it is .

They are offering a cruise , but its over to you , as to what, and how much of the cruise , you want to purchase.

 

 

[fishtaco]

If you choose MTD your grats are paid with your final payment and you can't remove them once on board - correct. We always choose Traditional Dining because we prefer to pay tips to the people who provide us service (and we rarely use the MDR but tip accordingly in the specialty restaurants, Concierge, Cabin Attendant, etc). They do apply the grats once we board but we then go and have them removed with no problem at all. You must choose Traditional Dining to be able to do so.

 

Cheers

Di

 

It is getting harder to choose trad dinning at booking stage even when booking in US.

 

This is frustrating to people like me who are willing to pre pay grats but still only want trad dinning.

 

I believe RCI is doing this to combat those who choose to tip as they see fit and remove auto,s like yourself.

 

When Dynamic Dinning is introduced to the new ships it seems MTD will be the only option on the smaller ships that cant fit all the DD venues so Pre paid non removable will be the RCI standard for all cruisers.

[fishtaco]

I think the call to action should be the customers to take more interest in what they are actually purchasing and at what cost.

 

When they say from....from what ?

An AA , AB , AC cabin and so on.

 

Its much the same as buying a new car. They are also advertised as , from , and then have extras such as On Road Costs,paint finishes, mats etc etc that all get added on to the advertised price.

 

Thats the way it is .

They are offering a cruise , but its over to you , as to what, and how much of the cruise , you want to purchase.

 

 

 

Yes you explained it better than I :)

[Guest012]

I think the call to action should be the customers to take more interest in what they are actually purchasing and at what cost.

 

 

Well said David......... and that covers "everything" you purchase not just travel ;):)

[goodycruising]

Good info on the prepaid gratuities situation. So once on board you can't remove them. I like my time dining and we end up going only half the time roughly, so i just factor the gratuities at booking and forget about it. It does sit in the back of the mind as a sneaky extra that isn't quite the Aussie way, but when in Rome, or on a tax haven registered ship, so be it.

 

I don't understand paying for the cleaning and detailing of the car either when purchasing a new car. Do you have the option to collect it dirty? On road costs. Yep, all extras that you need to add up and the car company that would include those would end up sounding too expensive. Very good comparison as far as Aussie laws in action.

Edited August 23, 2014 by goodycruising

[GUT2407]

Can you give examples of advertising in Australia where cruise lines are drip pricing? The ones I have seen recently do include fees and taxes. As far as I am aware gratuities do not count as they technically can be removed and not paid. The upfront fee for anytime dining is interesting and may be different though as that is prepaid and you would need to reverse it on board.

I would be interested to hear of examples of the practice.

 

 

Have a gander at the Celebrity site and do a mock booking. Classic example.

[Sparky74]

I think the call to action should be the customers to take more interest in what they are actually purchasing and at what cost.

 

When they say from....from what ?

An AA , AB , AC cabin and so on.

 

Its much the same as buying a new car. They are also advertised as , from , and then have extras such as On Road Costs,paint finishes, mats etc etc that all get added on to the advertised price.

 

Thats the way it is .

They are offering a cruise , but its over to you , as to what, and how much of the cruise , you want to purchase.

 

True, however, I have a problem with the fact that I can't purchase at the "from" price. Drip pricing is illegal under the Australian Consumer Law and it's one of the ACCC's investigation priorities at the moment.

 

If you have an issue with "the way it is", that a cruiseline or TA advertises one price and then adds on fees, taxes, gratuities, etc and would like to see industry-wide change, then I urge you to report it to the ACCC. https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/contact-the-accc/consumer-complaint-form :)

 

If, on the other hand, you are happy with "the way it is" and you don't have an issue with a website displaying one price but the potential customer having to perform a dummy booking or to mentally add on extra fees to discern the "real" price, then do nothing. :)

 

 

 

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[Aussieflyer]

According to RCI main office you cannot remove "pre paid" grats onboard because they are paid through a different accounting system than the onboard Auto,s so pre paid have to be removed from the land based office which is not possible once onboard as you have then opened an onboard account.

Thanks for the info. That makes perfect sense. We usually have pre-paid grats as we prefer anytime dining and happily pay up front so haven't ever tried to remove them.

[fishtaco]

True, however, I have a problem with the fact that I can't purchase at the "from" price. Drip pricing is illegal under the Australian Consumer Law and it's one of the ACCC's investigation priorities at the moment.

 

If you have an issue with "the way it is", that a cruiseline or TA advertises one price and then adds on fees, taxes, gratuities, etc and would like to see industry-wide change, then I urge you to report it to the ACCC. https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/contact-the-accc/consumer-complaint-form :)

 

If, on the other hand, you are happy with "the way it is" and you don't have an issue with a website displaying one price but the potential customer having to perform a dummy booking or to mentally add on extra fees to discern the "real" price, then do nothing. :)

 

 

 

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Which Australian booking sites do not include all costs?

 

Grats are not compulsory unless you choose MTD in which case Grats are also a choice by dinning option choice.

 

I am not doubting you but I thought all Australian sites included all fees now?

[fishtaco]

Have a gander at the Celebrity site and do a mock booking. Classic example.

 

Does Celebrity have an Australian company like RCI ?

[GUT2407]

Which Australian booking sites do not include all costs?

 

Grats are not compulsory unless you choose MTD in which case Grats are also a choice by dinning option choice.

 

I am not doubting you but I thought all Australian sites included all fees now?

 

Well go to Celebrity.com.au site pick a cruise

 

In this case 1 Dec 2014 Celebrity Century Concierge Class from $2340.00 pp

 

Lets go C1 so now showing $4,521.40 for 2 (so far so good in fact a small saving)

 

Pick a room Full balance $5998.00 what the..... and extra $1,475.00

 

Lets look at the summary of charges

 

Fare $2,640.70

Taxes 192.54

Grats 165.76

 

TOTAL $2,999.00 per person

 

That a good enough example of a site showing one price and then it changing.

 

Just in case lets look at the same situation with Concierge guarantee remember we start with from $2,340 or $4,680 for 2

 

This time guarantee, the lowest price point so must be the from price $3,921.40 for 2 (so far so good in fact a small saving)

 

Pick a room Full balance $5398.00 what the..... and again an extra $1,475.00 or even on our original $4,680 an extra $718.00.

[Aussieflyer]

GUT2407, grats are not part of the problem. You can choose Traditional dining on that cruise and remove the pre-paid gratuities.

On the initial booking price page with the cabin categories it clearly states that "Taxes, fees and port expenses of 192.54 AUD per person are additional." in the same size text as the prices. I don't find that misleading. In fact it is perfectly clear to me. There is also a large blue asterisk and symbol on the price further down the page indicated fees and taxes are additional.

When doing a dummy booking for a C1 on the December 1 cruise by choosing traditional dining the total fare was $5318.

Maybe I am in the minority but I do not find this a problem. The price in this case it not advertised, it is displayed with a notation.

The practice that annoys me more is when companies like Myer for example, advertise 30% off with about 40 exceptions in micro print at the end of the catalogue. I think the ABC program The Checkout had a dig at them over one of their campaigns.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Aussieflyer

[Aussie FF]

Does Celebrity have an Australian company like RCI ?

 

Celebrity IS RCI.

Phone the reservation number, and the options are RCI, Celebrity or Azamara.

[GUT2407]

GUT2407, grats are not part of the problem. You can choose Traditional dining on that cruise and remove the pre-paid gratuities.

On the initial booking price page with the cabin categories it clearly states that "Taxes, fees and port expenses of 192.54 AUD per person are additional." in the same size text as the prices. I don't find that misleading. In fact it is perfectly clear to me. There is also a large blue asterisk and symbol on the price further down the page indicated fees and taxes are additional.

When doing a dummy booking for a C1 on the December 1 cruise by choosing traditional dining the total fare was $5318.

Maybe I am in the minority but I do not find this a problem. The price in this case it not advertised, it is displayed with a notation.

The practice that annoys me more is when companies like Myer for example, advertise 30% off with about 40 exceptions in micro print at the end of the catalogue. I think the ABC program The Checkout had a dig at them over one of their campaigns.

 

 

Well I booked Traditional dining and celebrity said I had to pre-pay.

 

And saying taxes added is not displaying the full price, why not just be honest and quote the full prce, can I avoid taxes and port charges no ... so they should be included in the fare quoted.

 

Also why the jump from $3921 to $5398?

 

It is by the very nature misleading.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Well I booked Traditional dining and celebrity said I had to pre-pay.

 

And saying taxes added is not displaying the full price, why not just be honest and quote the full prce, can I avoid taxes and port charges no ... so they should be included in the fare quoted.

 

Also why the jump from $3921 to $5398?

 

It is by the very nature misleading.

 

Do you mean that if they miss a port , they get to keep the port tax they charged you , instead of refunding it. :confused: