Travel agents under fire for misleading consumers
Three backpacker travel agents have come under fire from the ACCC for breaching the new component pricing laws in their advertising.
According to the ACCC, Wicked Travel, Peter Pan’s Adventure Travel and Adventure Travel Bugs published advertisements that did not comply with the new requirements. The new requirements force businesses to state the total price of a particular product or service as a single figure. Businesses are unable to show the various components that make up the price, they must show the total price to be paid in a prominent way.
Businesses that choose to advertise a part of the price of a product or service now must also state the total price of that product or service as a single figure. This does not mean businesses cannot show the various components that make up the price, but it means that if they do, they must also show the total price to be paid in a prominent way.
The ACCC states that some of these businesses advertised tours to the Whitsundays and Fraser Island for as little as $299, when that price did not include mandatory charges that consumers had to pay, including insurance, national park fees, the Great Barrier Reef environmental charge and administration fees which took the total price of the tour to approximately $450.
ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel said the ACCC would be vigilant in enforcing the new law and has been monitoring a number of industry sectors to ensure members comply with the new requirements.
“Businesses must be straight-up with their pricing and must not confuse consumers by hiding the total cost of goods or services or by using large price representations that do not include all mandatory costs,” he said.
Three backpacker travel agents have come under fire from the ACCC for breaching the new component pricing laws in their advertising.
According to the ACCC, Wicked Travel, Peter Pan’s Adventure Travel and Adventure Travel Bugs published advertisements that did not comply with the new requirements. The new requirements force businesses to state the total price of a particular product or service as a single figure. Businesses are unable to show the various components that make up the price, they must show the total price to be paid in a prominent way.
The ACCC stated that some of these businesses advertised tours to the Whitsundays and Fraser Island for as little as $299, when that price did not include mandatory charges that consumers had to pay, including insurance, national park fees, the Great Barrier Reef environmental charge and administration fees, taking the total price of the tour to approximately $450.
ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel said the ACCC would be vigilant in enforcing the new law and has been monitoring a number of industry sectors to ensure members comply with the new requirements.
“Businesses must be straight-up with their pricing and must not confuse consumers by hiding the total cost of goods or services or by using large price representations that do not include all mandatory costs,” he said.
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