The European Commission pioneered a new kind of enforcement with
its ticket investigation, co-ordinating authorities in 15 member
states to check 400 websites in the same week in September. Over
half showed 'irregularities'.
"During the same week at the end of September, participating
national authorities used a common methodology and pre-defined
search terms such as "air-ticket, cheap flight, travel, last
minute, air miles, fly cheap" to identify and investigate web sites
selling air tickets, targeting consumers in their countries," said
a Commission statement. "Hundreds of sites were scanned by national
officials to identify those which appear to be in breach of EU
law."
The laws in question are the European directives on Misleading
Advertising and Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts.
Of the 447 sites checked 226 had irregularities that would be
followed up by national consumer protection agencies or by a
special EU cross border consumer protection body.
"Consumers deserve clear and fair pricing and no hidden
surprises in the small print of contract terms," said EU Consumer
Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. "The figures released today
show that there is a substantial problem in the industry. This is a
European issue which requires Europe-wide action."
EU rules say that when a ticket price is advertised it should be
the full, actual price, and not subject to additional charges such
as taxes or booking fees. Those costs should not be added later
after consumers have been enticed by a low original price, the
Commission said.
It also said that consumers should not be lured by a cheap offer
only to find very limited tickets available at that price.
The Commission also pointed out that the terms of the contract
must be clear and fair. "Unfair practices include mandatory
insurance attached to an offer, or where consumers have to
explicitly opt-out of an insurance clause, rather than opt-in,"
said the Commission statement. "Contract terms and conditions must
be available in the language of the consumer."
The consumer authorities involved will contact all the operators
of websites which have broken the rules and will ask them to
explain the irregularities or change the way they do business. The
Commission said that those who refuse would face legal action,
which could include the shutting down of the websites.
The Commission said that the websites targeted by the 'sweep'
included those of Europe's leading airlines as well as budget
carriers and independent ticket sales agencies.
Belgian sites were particularly affected, with 46 of the 48
checked there containing irregularities. Nine of Italy's 11 sites
contained them. None of Austria's 20 sites contained any
irregularities.
Commissioner Kuneva said that the Commission was serious about
taking action to protect consumers. "Today I am issuing the
strongest possible warning to companies to take swift action to put
their house in order. Once the January deadline expires I will not
hesitate to go further and name and shame companies which are still
breaking the law," said Kuneva.
