Watchdog Probes Trainline and Virgin Atlantic Over Hidden Fees
The competition watchdog opened investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic Holidays and a driving school over “drip pricing”, where mandatory fees are added late in the booking process. The Competition and Markets Authority pointed to booking fees of up to £2.79 on train tickets and resort charges on holidays that can run to hundreds of pounds. It said the first price a customer sees “should be the price they pay”.
The cases are among the first under new powers that let the regulator rule on breaches itself and impose fines of up to a tenth of a company’s global turnover, without going to court. Drip pricing, the trickle of compulsory fees revealed only at checkout, is estimated to cost consumers billions a year and has become a priority target, after the AA was fined £4.2m in April in the first such penalty. For shoppers, the practical effect could be clearer headline prices on some of the most-used booking sites. For the firms, the threat of large fines and forced refunds is a powerful incentive to change. Watch which companies settle and whether the crackdown widens.