Adam Williams
Established Member
The ORR have today published a review into how online retailers present fees (such as booking fees, share of saving/finder fees and fulfilment fees) to consumers.
Link to full text: http://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-12/online-ticket-fees-transparency-report.pdf (also attached)
My personal opinion is that I think it's a pretty interesting read and a well-conducted review, for the most part. A lot of the best practice that's called out should really be obvious, and it's fairly clear that the aim is avoiding consumers being misled. I'm a little disappointed they stopped short of criticising cashback partner programmes ("Click here for £16 off your next purchase*" * When you sign up to a recurring subscription based programme for £15 a month) which customers have been caught out by and have been criticised here on the forum in the past.
We reviewed the general information provided on retailers’ websites and apps about fees and purchased tickets through desktop websites and mobile apps
There were three strands to our review:
- a review of the information provided on fees on the general pages of the platform
- a test purchase of an Anytime ticket for a specific short journey
- a simulated purchase from TPRs offering split ticketing services
Link to full text: http://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-12/online-ticket-fees-transparency-report.pdf (also attached)
My personal opinion is that I think it's a pretty interesting read and a well-conducted review, for the most part. A lot of the best practice that's called out should really be obvious, and it's fairly clear that the aim is avoiding consumers being misled. I'm a little disappointed they stopped short of criticising cashback partner programmes ("Click here for £16 off your next purchase*" * When you sign up to a recurring subscription based programme for £15 a month) which customers have been caught out by and have been criticised here on the forum in the past.