Did Travelplanet.pl mislead tourists? The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a high fine

Travelplanet.pl misled consumers by presenting outdated or incomplete tour prices on the website, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection stated in a statement on Monday. He added that the president of the office imposed almost PLN 650,000 on the company. PLN fine.

The antitrust office explained in a statement that Travelplanet.pl is a travel agent selling trips to tour operators, including: via the website. “The information about the price of the trip that appeared in the search results was misleading to consumers because after entering the details of the trip, the price turned out to be different,” the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection said.

For violating the collective interests of consumers, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine on Travelplanet.pl in the amount of PLN 647,000. PLN and ordered the company to change its practice. The entrepreneur will also have to inform about the decision on his website and social media profiles. The decision is not final and may be appealed to the court.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection reported that during three weeks of one of the examined periods out of 100 verified trips, in 47 cases the price visible in the offer details was on average PLN 329 per person higher than in the search results. “The biggest difference then concerned the trip to Dubai and amounted to as much as PLN 4,730. The price per person presented in the search results was PLN 4,293, while in the trip details it was PLN 9,023,” the Office reported.

He also pointed out that the prices, in some cases, did not include mandatory contributions to the tourist guarantee fund, although the company changed this practice in the course of the proceedings and the prices now include contributions.

“The operation of Travelplanet.pl led to consumers being misled as to the price of a tourist event. They may have had difficulty in reliably comparing offers or even in finding trips that actually interested them,” said the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Tomasz Chróstny, the president of the Office, quoted in the announcement, emphasized that price is one of the most important pieces of information consumers use when choosing goods and services. “Presenting current and complete prices on websites and search engines, without the need for consumers to verify them, is one of the basic obligations of an entrepreneur,” he said. (PAP)

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