Online travel platform On The Beach has been warned by the Advertising Standards Authority over a misleading offer.
Two complaints were upheld over the misleading claim that OTB had a holiday to Portugal £592 cheaper than with easyJet holidays.
The tour operator challenged the claim.
An email sent to OTB customers claimed it had conducted a full price comparison between the two offers for identical holidays to Portugal.
“We compared we conquered. Deal of the Week: We’re £592 cheaper than easyJet holidays,” the email offer said.
The email listed its price comparison method in the small print, which easyJet holidays claimed was misleading and not like-for-like.
The comparison didn’t take into account a £100 discount with easyjet holidays and the offer included Ryanair flights rather than with easyJet.
It also included a reduced baggage allowance.
OTB didn’t make it clear enough that customers had to book the cheaper holiday quickly to secure the price, the watchdog said.
“We considered the packages were not identical,” the ASA said.
“On the Beach had excluded such promotional savings from their comparison.”
“It did not provide a like-for-like basis for an ‘identical’ comparison.”
The ASA ruled any future price comparison offers must be based on identical holidays ‘in all material respects.’
