?6.45 warning issued to train passengers who buy rail tickets online
Online train ticket sellers are charging up to £6.45 just for transaction fees, a watchdog has found.[1] The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said the companies must ensure their booking or finder's fees are included within upfront prices after it reviewed the websites and apps of 19 third-party train ticket retailers.
The ORR's review found that booking fees ranged from 45p per ticket to £6.45 per transaction. ORR director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: "Consumers can now purchase rail tickets from a wide variety of websites and apps. This report highlights that some online retailers are not as transparent as they need to be when it comes to how they display or provide information on additional fees.
"We want to ensure consumers are provided with timely and relevant information when making purchase decisions and that drip pricing does not undermine consumer confidence when purchasing rail tickets online." Retailers found to charge booking and/or finder's fees were MyTrainTicket, Omio, Rail Europe, Railboard, Raileasy, Sojo, Split my fare, Train Hugger, Trainline, Trainpal, Trainsplit and TrainTickets.com.
A Department for Business and Trade consultation into price transparency, including drip pricing, closed in October. Drip pricing occurs when consumers are shown an initial price for a good/service (known as the base price or advertised price) while additional fees are revealed (or “dripped”) later in the purchasing process. Consumers might select products with a lower base price and, due to behavioural biases, often choose to complete the purchase despite dripped fees sometimes rendering the final price of the item greater than some alternatives. Online retailers may therefore use drip pricing to encourage purchases and increase profits. Drip pricing negatively impacts consumer decision-making and satisfaction. Drip pricing is estimated tocause UK consumers to spend an additional £0.6 to £3.5 billion online each year. The government is considering regulation to address this detriment.References