ASA Adjudication on Irish Ferries Ltd

Ad

A direct mailing with two leaflets and a national press ad for Irish Ferries Ltd. a. The direct mailing stated “Your Valued Customer Number: XXXX Dear Mr XXXX, With low summer fares from Irish Ferries there’s never been a better time to head for Ireland and discover your best holiday ever! Our fares start from an amazing £69 one-way for a car & driver, including all taxes … And we are delighted to offer you an exclusive 10% discount on our lowest fares! Just go to www … and book by 28th June … “. Smallprint at the bottom of the mailing stated “ … Offer only applies to existing customers and is subject to availability. Discount applies to new bookings on Britain/Ireland services made by 28 June. Only one 10% discount per booking. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount or special offer. Book early & on-line … “. b. One leaflet stated “Ireland Car Ferry and Holiday Guide 2007 BOOK EARLY AND SAVE UNBEATABLE FERRY FARES FROM £59 CAR PLUS DRIVER ONE WAY INCLUDING ALL TAXES … “. On the back of the leaflet, the text stated “Talk to us today Call 08705 XXX or Book online & Save … “. c. Another leaflet stated “IRELAND TAKE YOUR CAR AND DISCOVER YOUR BEST HOLIDAY EVER! EXCLUSIVE 10% OFF OUR LOWEST FARES CUSTOMER OFFER HURRY BOOK ONLINE BY 28 JUNE …”. On the back of the leaflet, the text stated “BOOK NOW FOR 10% OFF OUR LOWEST SUMMER FARES … HURRAY! BOOK ONLINE BY 28 JUNE LOW SUMMER FARES from £69 … Summer fares to Ireland start from an amazing £69 one-way for a car and driver including all taxes! Book online at irishferries.com by 28 June and get 10% off our lowest fares … ”. d. The national press ad was headlined “The biggest sharks aren’t in the sea” and claimed “IRELAND from £59 CAR + DRIVER INCLUDING ALL TAXES”. The smallprint stated “ … See irishferries.com for terms & conditions Call 08705 XXX …”.

Issue

1. Two complainants, who tried to take up the low fare offer in June, believed the ads were misleading because it was not clear that fares had to be booked 28 days in advance;

2. One complainant believed the direct mailing was misleading, because he understood that the £59 fare was only available if booked 28 days in advance and that the offer ended on 28 June.  He therefore believed the fare was not available by phone when he received the mailing June; and

3. One complainant, who understood that the £59 fare only applied in the off-peak period, challenged that the press ad was misleading by omission.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Irish Ferries explained that travel industry fares, particularly by air and ferry, were affected by supply and demand and that it was not possible to forecast the price of those fares accurately in advance of booking or travel date.  They explained that all their fares were promoted on a 'from fare' basis, by promoting the lowest available fare at all times.  They pointed out that those fares might be subject to certain conditions in terms of departures and explained that those conditions were detailed openly on their website under "Top tips to get our Lowest Fares".  They believed they had adhered to the CAP Help Note on Travel Marketing fully and said they now, after receiving the complaints, had included a reference to the "Top tips to get our Lowest Fares" on all marketing communications.  

1.  Irish Ferries explained that the £59 and £69 fares were widely available at the time of the promotion, but those fares were subject to the conditions detailed on their website.  They said the 28 day booking restriction was not fixed in all cases, but that the condition was clearly stated on their website.  They pointed out that there were no conditions which stated the travel dates and therefore that it was unnecessary to state how far in advance the booking needed to be made.  They provided examples of bookings that showed the £59 and £69 fares had been available to book between May and June 2007.

2.  They explained that the direct mailing contained two leaflets: one was a Summer offer with fares "from £69" and the other a timetable with a lead-in fare to Ireland of £59.  They said the complainant was correct, because the Summer offer was available online only.  They pointed out that both the letter and the leaflet for the Summer offer stated "HURRY BOOK ONLINE BY 28 JUNE".  They said that the fares were available for travel dates after the end of June and provided examples of bookings to show that.  They said they believed some confusion must have occurred between the complainant and their booking agent and explained the following: both the £59 and £69 fares were valid, although for different periods of travel and departures; no 28-day advance restrictions were attached to either of those offers and the fares were available online only.

3.  They said the £59 fare was a lead-in fare without restriction in terms of availability, travel or booking validity and pointed out the ad directed readers to their website for terms and conditions.  They said their website made clear that their lowest fares were available for booking 28 days in advance of outbound travel and included a fare grid which showed which lead-in fare was valid in each season.  

Assessment

1., 2. & 3. Upheld

The ASA acknowledged Irish Ferries response and noted their apology for any confusion that had occurred.  We accepted that the letter of the direct mailing and the leaflet offering fares at £69 made clear that the 10% off the fare offer was available online only and that the closing date for that offer was the 28 June 2007.  However, we were concerned that the two leaflets included together in the mailing, promoting fares from £59 and £69, had caused confusion.  We noted the direct mailing had been sent in June and the press ad had been published in June also.  We understood, from Irish Ferries' website, that they had three lead-in fare prices depending on the season: from £59 in low season, from £69 in June and September and from £89 in July and August; we also noted that, to pay the lowest fares, consumers had to book at least 28 days in advance.  We noted the bookings supplied by Irish Ferries showed that the £59 and £69 fares had been available, but that they had all been booked at least seven weeks, and some times months, in advance of travel.  We considered that readers of those ads, in the absence of any information to the contrary, would expect that the fares quoted, from £59 and £69 respectively, would be available and applied to ferry departures between one week after the marketing communication and six weeks later.  Because that was not true, we considered that the ads were misleading by omission.

The ads breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 15.1 and 15.4 (Prices), 27.4 (Sales promotion rules) and 34.1, 34.1a, 34.1b and 34.1c (Significant conditions for promotions).

Action

We told Irish Ferries not to repeat the approach and to ensure that all future ads included significant conditions likely to affect consumers understanding of the offer, such as the requirement to book 28 days in advance to get the lowest fare and the travel period appropriate to the lead-in fare advertised.  We advised them to seek help from the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising again.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)