Webjet to pay $9m fine for misleading prices, booking confirmations
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Online travel agency Webjet has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay penalties totalling $9 million for making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations after an investigation by the ACCC.
The context: Webjet has admitted to making false or misleading settlements between 2018 and 2023 when it advertised airfares that excluded compulsory fees on its website, in promotional emails and on social media.
The included fees were the ‘Webjet servicing fee’ and ‘booking guarantee fee’ that ranged between $34.90 and $54.90, depending on the flight destination.
The travel agency also admitted to providing false or misleading booking confirmations between 2019 and 2024 to 118 customers for flight bookings that had not been confirmed before asking for additional payments of up to $2,120.
The ACCC instituted its proceedings against Webjet in the Federal Court on 28 November.
What they said: “We took this case because we considered that Webjet used misleading pricing by excluding or not adequately disclosing compulsory fees in its ads,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
“Seeking to lure in customers with prices that don’t tell the whole story is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law.”
The sources: ACCC media release, ASX
