Cross-channel train operator Eurostar has been criticised by the advertising watchdog for exaggerating the number of £39 seats on sale.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Eurostar ads across Instagram and Facebook for £39 tickets from London to Amsterdam and Brussels were misleading, the second time it has censured its ads this year.
It said the only data Eurostar had supplied to prove how many such bargain fares were available showed that just 1.6% – or fewer than one in 60 seats – between London and the Dutch capital were sold for £39.
The ASA was responding to reader complaints that the Eurostar ads, posted in June, exaggerated the number of seats available and omitted to make clear when the dates applied.
The Instagram and Facebook posts had an asterisk advising that “T&Cs apply”, and Eurostar said the travel dates were clearly set out in its terms and conditions, presented on a page 1 click away.
Eurostar told the ASA that presenting the number of £39 fares as a percentage of all tickets did not accurately represent their availability because some were sold to businesses, while they also “injected” more tickets on sale at lower fares.
The firm argued that actual sales figures showed that only 11% of its £39 fares on the two routes had sold by 21 July.
But, the ASA said Eurostar did not provide “sufficient evidence” and “the responsibility was on Eurostar to demonstrate that the ‘from’ price did not exaggerate the availability or number of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer”.
In fact, the ASA said: “The only data they had provided showed that 4.2% of the total number of tickets for London to Brussels and 1.6% of the total for London to Amsterdam were priced at £39.”
It concluded the ads were misleading and breached their code, and told Eurostar to ensure that a significant proportion of advertised fares were available when making such claims in future, and that any travel dates were made clear.
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In a similar ruling in January, the ASA concluded that Eurostar’s promotion of more £39 fares was misleading, finding it applied to only a “very small percentage” of available seats for travel between London and Paris.
A Eurostar spokesperson said: “We take great care in the way that we word our advertising.
“We understand and take on board the ASA’s latest ruling and are committed to ensuring that this scenario does not occur again,” they added.