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Cruise comparison website comes under fire
Advertising watchdogs have severely criticised price comparison website cruisecompare.co.uk after it ignored its inquiries regarding a misleading price on its site.
They also upheld the second complaint in less than a month against Freedom Travel Group.
Cruise Compare failed to respond to the Advertising Standards Authority’s requests for information and has since been report it to the Committee of Advertising Practice compliance team.
A customer had complained to the ASA after they were unable to book a 14-night cruise at the price listed by cruisecompare.co.uk.
The website had listed prices for the 14-night Mediterranean cruise from a range of travel companies, the cheapest of which was £1,039 from Freedom Travel Group member Cruise Answers.
However, when the customer tried to book, they were told by Cruise Answers that the voyage was no longer available at the stated price. They were told the price had gone up £160, but when the customer checked the website again three days later the cruise was still being advertised at £1,039, leading them to challenge whether the price was misleading.
Cruise Answers told ASA investigators that it had recently stopped trading so no longer had access to documentation that could have substantiated its price claim, but it insisted that at the time the price was advertised it had systems in place to ensure all prices were accurate.
It said prices on cruisecompare.co.uk would have been identical to those on its own website, but Cruise Compare failed to respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Upholding the complaint, the ASA said it was concerned by Cruise Compare’s apparent disregard for the Code.
"We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and we told them to do so in future," it said.
Last month, the ASA upheld a complaint against another member of the Freedom Travel Group, FlightandHotel.co.uk which had posted a misleading ad on Teletext.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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