Component Pricing Rules Being Enforced

Turns out those rules requiring advertisers to disclose every component of a price really have some teeth. Last week, the ACCC busted three travel agents for not fully publicising the total price of various deals.

Picture by jcolman

We reported back in May that new rules meant that advertisers could no longer list a partial price for goods or services without also clearly specifying the total costs. While one obvious target of those rules were mobile phones, which often have complicated pricing packages, travel is also a major source of problems.

Three backpacker-centric travel agents have been hauled over the coals for advertising $299 deals for travel to the Whitsundays and Fraser Island, when the total cost of other fees meant that the trips could cost as much as $450. The agencies have agreed to court-enforceable undertakings meaning they won’t run similar advertisements again. As ever, check the price of any deal carefully to make sure you know what you’re in for.

ACCC acts against backpacker travel agents for misleading price representations